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Bundesautobahn 7

is the longest German Autobahn and the longest national motorway in Europe at 963 km (598 mi). It bisects the country almost evenly between east and west. In the north, it starts at the border with Denmark as an extension of the Danish part of E45. In the south, the autobahn ends at the Austrian border. This final gap was closed in September 2009.

Overview
The Bundesautobahn 7 starts at Flensburg and travels through the two states at Schleswig and Rendsburg, through the world's busiest artificial waterway of Kiel Canal crossing the Rader high bridge. At Rendsburg you can change to the A 210, a feeder to the Schleswig-Holstein capital, Kiel. A few kilometers further south there is another feeder route to Kiel, the A 215, into the A7 at the interchange Bordesholm; however, this can only be reached from the south, likewise from the A 215 you can only reach the A7 in the south. South of Bordesholm, the highway has been continuously expanded to six lanes since 2014 due to the high traffic volume to Hamburg. Since 2016 and 2017, several sections have six lanes. Here, the motorway leads past the cities of Neumünster, Bad Bramstedt and Norderstedt, before the hamlet of Schnelsen reaches Hamburg's urban area, and also Hamburg Airport. From the intersection Hamburg-Nordwest, where the A23 branches off towards Heide, the A7 is six lanes, but is currently being expanded to eight lanes.

The section through the city of Hamburg is characterized by an immense volume of traffic, congestion is the order of the day here. There are several reasons for this: the motorway runs through inner-city areas, there is a lot of holiday traffic on the route during school holidays, there are practically no opportunities for bypassing, the speed is permanently limited to 80 km / h as an urban area and the section is extended, South of the equipped with four tubes to two lanes Elbe tunnel leads the A7 on the highway Elbmarsch, the longest road bridge in Germany, right through the harbor area and the Harburg mountains to Lower Saxony. Via the corner junction A 261 you get to the A 1 to Bremen, at the following Maschener Kreuz on the A 39 to Lüneburg.

Going through Hanover from Hamburg, the highway has six lanes, and it was downgraded to the four-lane section between Soltau and Walsrode the hard shoulder can be temporarily released as a third lane. It leads across the Lüneburg Heath, partly with separate directional lanes. At the triangle Walsrode you reach the A 27 to Bremen and a few kilometers to the south, before reaching the capital of Lower Saxony, at the junction Hannover-Nord on the A 352, which connects to Hannover Airport and ends at the A 2, which leads to Dortmund. The following motorway junctions of the A7 provide a connection to the A37 Hanover city center and to Celle or A 2 Ruhrgebiet-Berlin dar. By the Altwarmbüchener Moor the highway leads east to Hanover; at the triangle Hannover-Süd, where the southern branch of the A 37 to the fair Hanover is connected only with the further south part of the A7.

South of Hildesheim, the A7 enters a low mountain range and the terrain becomes hilly. The Salzgitter triangle also connects only the southern part of the A7 with the A 39 to Braunschweig and Salzgitter. Between the triangle Salzgitter and Göttingen the highway is expands to six lanes. Passing the university town, the A 38 branches off at Dreieck Drammetal to Leipzig, then the A7 leads over steep gradients and slopes down into the Werratal near the town of Hann. Münden and continues onto Hesse.

At Kassel, it is the largest district, from there you can get on the A44 in the direction of the west to the Ruhr area and in some years, when the extension Kassel-Herleshausen will be completed, also in the direction of Eisenach. Between the interchange Kassel-Ost and the interchange Kassel-Süd, the A7 is being developed eight-lane for a future convergence with the then branching off to the east A44. In Kassel, the unfinished A 49 branches off, which will lead from completed completion to the Ohmtal triangle, which is to be built near Homberg (Ohm) between the junctions Alsfeld-West and Homberg (Ohm) on the A5. Between Kassel and Kirchheim the Knüllgebirge is crossed. The Kirchheim triangle and the Hattenbacher triangle, which are close to each other and quite close to the geographic center of Germany, together form one of the most important motorway junctions of the state. The A 4 leads to the New Länder and Eastern Europe, the A 5 to the Rhine-Main area and on to the border of Switzerland. South of the Hattenbacher triangle is the A7 sections four-lane expanded, leads past Fulda, where the A 66 branches off to Hanau and reaches Bavarian territory.

Crossing the Rhön Mountains, pass Schweinfurt (cross with the A 70 to Bayreuth) and Würzburg to the Biebelried intersection, where the A 3 Ruhrgebiet-Frankfurt am Main-Nürnberg-Passau is crossed. This was the southern end of the A7 for a long time. The completion of the south in the 1980s leads past Rothenburg ob der Tauber on the western edge of the Frankenhöhe to the freeway junction Feuchtwangen / Crailsheim (intersection with the A 6 Saarbrücken-Heilbronn-Nuremberg- Waidhaus) and partly Baden-Württemberg area over the Ostalb, for the crossing even two tunnels had to be built, via Aalen to Ulm. At the motorway junction Ulm / Elchingen, the A8 (Luxembourg-Karlsruhe-Stuttgart-Munich-Salzburg) is crossed. South of Ulm it goes through the Illertal parallel to the river back to Bavaria, via Memmingen (cross with the A 96 Lindau Munich) and Kempten (branch to the A 980 to Oberstdorf), over the 2009 completed section through the Reinertshoftunnel to the edge of the foot of the Alps. There, the lane becomes one lane and flows into the border tunnel Füssen to Austria.

History
The highway replaced as a trunk connection the imperial or federal roads 76, 77, 205 and 4 (Flensburg-Hamburg), 3 (Hamburg-Kassel) and 27 (Göttingen-Würzburg), which in turn went back to medieval precursors. On the route between Flensburg and Hamburg, for example, it follows the historic Ochsenweg and can be described as its successor in terms of its importance as a trade route from Scandinavia to the south. Plans for a highway from Hamburg to the south were made in the framework of the HaFraBa from 1926. This project is considered to be the predecessor of the A7 between Hamburg and the Hattenbacher Dreieck.

The first section opened from Göttingen to Bad Hersfeld in 1937. Construction of the section between Bad Hersfeld and Würzburg (Strecke 46) began in 1937 with various bridge structures built however the road wasn't completed before war broke out in 1939 and construction was stopped before being fully abandon in 1940. After World War 2 the route of A7 was altered leaving some of the abandoned bridge structures of Strecke 46 to be preserved as historic monuments.

From the 1950s, the highway was built between the A 1 south of Hamburg and the existing part of the A7 near Göttingen and opened in sections. At the A1 the "Horster triangle" was created as the new beginning of the A7. From the south (Hanover) coming vehicles had there at the threading to the A1 in the direction of west (Bremen) drive through a steep curve for many years.

The section Echte-Seesen was opened on 14 November 1959. The section Seesen Hildesheim was opened on 15 December 1960 by Secretary of Transportation Seebohm.

From 1956, the seven sections between Hamburg and Hanover were handed over to traffic. In 1960, the 21 km section between junction Berkhof and the cross Hannover / Kirchhorst was opened last.

The four remaining sections in between were opened in 1958. The gap closure was achieved with the 35 km section between motorway junction Hannover / Kirchhorst and junction Hildesheim in 1962.

In the 1960s, the A7 was then built on a slightly different route. The first to be opened in 1965 was the 10.9 km section north of the Biebelried interchange to the junction Würzburg / Estenfeld. 1966 followed the adjacent section to the present cross Schweinfurt / Werneck and the 14.8 km long section between Fulda North and Fulda South. The northernmost section from the Hattenbacher Triangle to Fulda (32 km) and the middle section between Fulda and Schweinfurt (68 km) were finally handed over to traffic in 1968.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the highway was built in the Hamburg area and the so-called north axis to Denmark and handed over to traffic. The construction took place in nine sections. An important milestone was the opening of the New Elbe Tunnel in 1975. On 13 July 1976, Ernst Haar, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Transport, and Schleswig-Holstein's Minister of the Interior Rudolf Titzck solemnly opened the motorway section from Tarp to Handewitt. Only in 1978, the last vacant space between Tarp and Schuby was closed, so that the highway could be driven from Hamburg to the federal border.

On 13 June 1978, Queen Margrethe II and President Walter Scheel opened the border crossing Ellund, accompanied by Prime Minister Gerhard Stoltenberg and the Flensburg Mayor Ingrid Gross. At 10.55 clock they officially released the freeway and passport control, at 12.32 clock rolled the first car through the new border crossing. Ellund developed into the most important transit point of German-Danish border traffic. In 1979, 3.2 million travelers passed the counters; until 1997, the number had more than quintupled at 16.7 million.

In the preliminary draft for a motor vehicle road network of Germany of the study company for automotive road construction (STUFA) of 1926 a highway Würzburg-Ulm-Lindau was provided, detail planning took place from 1935 to 1941. In 1969, the states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg were able to agree on a line parallel to the federal highway 19.

From 1972 first sections could be released. It started with the Berkheim section to junction Memmingen-Süd (9.4 km) and the first 27.1 km long directional lane between Bad Grönenbach and Kempten-Leubas.

Major sections were between Kreuz Biebelried and junction Uffenheim-Langensteinach (34.7 km) in 1980, the southern extension to the junction Feuchtwangen (42.1 km) in 1985 and further to the junction Heidenheim (59.6 km) opened in 1987. Since the last 6.8 kilometers to the junction Oy-Mittelberg were already released a year ago, the highway was already passable from Denmark to the Allgäu.

In 1992, the A7 was extended by another 4.9 km to Nesselwang. A few meters west of the junction of the same name is the highest motorway point in Germany: "914.081 m above sea level. NN ".

In July 1999, the opening of the border tunnel Füssen to Tyrol followed with a tube and two lanes. The tunnel is supposed to relieve the surrounding communities of the high traffic volume during vacation time. In 2005, the northern adjoining first directional lane was opened up to the county road at Gunzenberg. Until September 2009, traffic from the end of the motorway at Nesselwang was routed via various routes for cars and trucks to the border tunnel, which often led to traffic jams.

On 1 September 2009 was the official inauguration of the last 15-kilometer section, which was released more than a year late. The viaduct Enzenstetten was initially only one-way passable, as the construction-performing consortium could not complete it on time. The second half of the bridge went into operation in December 2010, to the Austrian border.

Recent changes
The highway is from the Danish border to the Bordesholmer triangle with the A 215 four-lane expanded. To triangle Hamburg northwest with the A 23 are several sections since 2016/2017 six-lane, the remaining four-lobed sections are expected to end of 2019 six lanes expanded. It follows a six-lane section to the junction Hamburg-Bahrenfeld. Thereafter, eight lanes will be available in the Elbtunnels area. In the further course there are again six lanes, between the triangle Hamburg-southwest (A 261) and the Horster triangle (A 1) only four.

Between Hamburg and Hildesheim, the motorway has six lanes, with the exception of the four-lane section between the Soltau-Ost junction and the Walsrode junction (A 27). In this four-lane section can be released with a traffic control system as needed both hard shoulder as each third lane.

In this area, the highway was in early 2009 despite the heavy traffic largely from only four lanes. Only in a few gradient areas there was an additional third lane available. By the end of 2016, several sections were expanded. About half of the road is widened to six lanes.

Between Nörten-Hardenberg and the Hattenbacher Dreieck, the highway is consistently expanded to six-lane. South of Kassel, as well as between the Kirchheim triangle and the Hattenbacher triangle, there is an additional fourth lane on inclines in the direction of south. Because of the steep climbs and gradients, the section is known as the Kassel mountains and is considered by motorists to be particularly demanding for trucks and caravans.

Throughout the southern section, the A7 is four lanes. Only a few sections have more than two strips per directional lane. The highway ends since 1 September 2009 at the border tunnel Füssen. This contains only one tube with one lane per direction. In the area of the valley bridge Enzenstetten the A7 was only two-lane drivable until the completion of the second bridge in December 2010.

Under construction
The A7 is being upgraded from the Bordesholm motorway intersection to the Hamburg Northwest motorway junction on 65 kilometers from four to six lanes. This measure will be realized through a public-private partnership and should cost a total of 600 million euros. The official starting signal for the major project in Schleswig-Holstein was on 1 September 2014. Already in May, preparations were started, especially in Hamburg. The expansion should take place until 2018. On 16 December 2016, Prime Minister Albig released the first section of the 6-lane A7 between the Bordesholm motorway junction and the AS Neumünster-Nord interchange. It has been agreed that the operating company will carry out the remaining work on the six-kilometer stretch between Neumünster and Bordesholm and then transfer it to the state of Schleswig-Holstein. The other 59 kilometers operates and receives the company until 2044. Since March, a 9.9-kilometer section at Großenaspe is six-lane expanded. On 7 April 2017, another expanded section was released by Prime Minister Albig. It is about 10 kilometers between the junctions Kaltenkirchen and Quickborn. At the end of the decade the realization of the project can be expected.

As part of the widening works, the A7 north of the Elbtunnel three covers of the highway are provided in Schnelsen, Stellingen, Othmarschen and Bahrenfeld. The allotments that have existed in the area for 90 years are to be "relocated" to these and thus ensure that the districts separated by the motorway grow together again. In addition to 25 hectares of green space and 3000 apartments to be created. The plan approval decision for the six-lane expansion between the triangle Hamburg-Nordwest and Schnelsen was made on 15 December 2012. After the end of the current construction measures, the lids should have a total length of 3.8 kilometers. In addition to 240 million euros from the federal government, 160 to 240 million euros will go to the city of Hamburg for noise control measures.

In the further demand with planning right the six-lane development of the A7 over the connection point Soltau-Ost was planned up to the triangle Walsrode. On 30 March 2012, the federal government began planning for the six-lane expansion. The expansion is divided into three sections: triangle Walsrode to Bad Fallingbostel, Bad Fallingbostel to Dorfmark and Dorfmark to Soltau-Ost. For the section triangle Walsrode to Bad Fallingbostel, the plan approval decision was issued on 4 August 2015. Since the end of October there is building law for this section. 58 million euros were released in December 2015. Construction work began in early 2016 and construction began in August 2016. Construction of this section is expected to be ready in 2019. For the other two sections the design planning is running.

The six-lane widening of the sections from Soltau-Ost to Fallingbostel has been classified as an urgent need since 2016. The further eight-lane expansion to the triangle Hannover-Nord is only in the further need. On 29 January 2016, the planning approval procedure was initiated to expand the tank and rest area Allertal and to build the Allertal junction. The short four-lane section to the north of the Salzgitter triangle with the A 39 was upgraded to a priority requirement in 2016 with the amendment of the Fernstraßenausbaugesetz - bottleneck elimination. The continuation to Göttingen is unannounced plan-established, with the exception of the sections between Seesen and Nörten-Hardenberg already finished six-lane expansion and is in the status of ongoing and firmly scheduled in the highway development law.

From June 2012 to June 2013, a public-private partnership (PPP) was examined for the extension of the line between Seesen and Nörten-Hardenberg. According to this audit report of the Federal Court of Auditors, the expansion would not be cheaper in a PPP, but by 12.8 million euros more expensive. The project was awarded with the contract beginning 1 May 2017 to the consortium Via Niedersachsen with the shareholders VINCI Concessions Deutschland GmbH and Meridiam Investments. On 26 August 2015, the planning approval procedure was initiated for the conversion and expansion of the tank and service facility Göttingen with the construction of the Rosdorf exit.

The section between the future triangle Kassel-Ost and the triangle Kassel-Süd is under construction into eight lanes, since the total traffic of the A7 and the A44 shares this route. Construction began in fall 2011 and is expected to be completed in 2022. First, the noise protection is expanded. The additional lanes are created by making lanes and median strips narrower. In the course of the expansion, the refueling and rest area Kassel (-West and -Ost) was dismantled and rebuilt at the location of the Rastanlage Kassel-Ost between 2016 and 2018.

In planning stages
The A20 is to be connected at the level Bad Bramstedt via a motorway junction to the A7. At the south of the Hamburg Elbe Tunnel, the highway to the planned motorway junction Hamburg-Süderelbe with the federal highway 26 is eight stripe to be expanded. This should be implemented by 2022.

Current plans of the Federal Ministry of Transport provide an intersection of the A26 at the future motorway intersection Hamburg-Süderelbe south of the Elbe, where it will continue east through Wilhelmsburg as a so-called port passage to A1 with a motorway junction Hamburg-Stillhorn. In May 2011, funding was approved by the Federal Ministry of Transport.

To the east of Würzburg, between Kreuz Schweinfurt / Werneck and Kreuz Biebelried an expansion to six strips in the further need with planning right classified. On 15 June 2016, during the construction of the Schraudenbach valley bridge near Schraudenbach, the shoring collapsed during the concreting of a superstructure section. The accident cost the life of a construction worker. In addition, there were 14 life-threatening injuries.

The six-lane widening of the A7 in the section between the AD Hittistetten and the AS Illertissen was included in the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2030 and the Highway Act as urgent needs, the further expansion to the junction Memmingen-South is added as a further need with planning law.

Strecke 46
Through the Rhön Mountains and Spessart, where the autobahn was known as Strecke 46 (Route 46), some bridges were built as early as 1937, but construction was halted in October 1939 by World War II. In 1954, the Strecke 46 route was abandoned and the final stretch of the A 7 in this area was later built on a slightly different route and finally completed in 1968. The remains of Strecke 46 have been classified as a listed building in 2003 by the government of Bavaria.

title: Bundesautobahn 7


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Toby Amies

Toby Amies is a filmmaker and broadcaster who specialises in making programmes about art, music, and travel with an emphasis on fringe culture and alternative perspectives. He is best known for his feature-length documentary The Man Whose Mind Exploded and his broadcast work on Radio4, MTV Europes's Alternative Nation, FilmFour, Lonely Planet Six Degrees and The Rough Guides. In addition, Toby is a widely published portrait photographer and writer.

Early life and education
Amies was brought up in Worcestershire and went to the University of Exeter in Devon and subsequently the University of Kansas, where he was awarded a scholarship in Art History. He declined the scholarship in favour of work in music TV in the UK at the Powerstation.

Career
Amies began his career on air with Chris Evans, Boy George, Steven Wells and Suggs. He started DJing in art college in Cheltenham (he was in the same class as British artist Tim Noble) and after leaving the UK he worked behind the decks in Arizona at top 40 radio station KRQ alongside Jimmy Kimmel. He later worked at MCA Records in Los Angeles and then moved to work in the news department at MTV Europe partly thanks to work/appearances with Quentin Tarantino and Traci Lords at MCA before moving to MTV.

Whilst at MTV Europe he worked on the programmes Alternative Nation, US Top 20, Weekend Edition, The Big Picture and was the co-creator of the programme MTV Hot which later featured Paul Tonkinson, Sara Cox and the German actor Christian Ulmen as hosts. He also worked alongside Davina McCall.

Amies later moved to MTV USA to host MTV Live with Carson Daly. This show later became TRL. He also hosted his own show, Countdown to the Ten Spot. In 1999, he moved on to form the band Genius Steals with New York City photographer Brooke Williams, working with Moby, Romanthony, Darry Logan, Jim Sclavunos and Matt Verta-Ray amongst others. At this time he also hosted the anarchic US Top 20, most famous for the show that attempted to measure the length of Long Island.

Since moving back to the UK he has covered film festivals for FilmFour, worked for Radio 4 and became the host of three series of Lonely Planet Six Degrees and two series of The Rough Guides. In the Lonely Planet series, he teamed up with fellow British presenter Asha Gill to visit many countries. Amies presented programmes on Radio 4, BBC Two, BBC Four and BBC World Service. He occasionally podcasts on podomatic.

He concentrates on filmmaking, regularly making films for Nowness, the Tate, Christie's and music videos.

In 2022 Amies released the documentary In The Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50 (formerly titled Cosmic FuKc) about progressive rock band King Crimson, to coincide with the group's 50th anniversary.

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

title: Toby Amies


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Amy Pietz

Amy Pietz (born March 6, 1969) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She is known for her roles on television. She received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series nomination for her role as Annie Spadaro in the NBC sitcom Caroline in the City (1995–99). She later had starring roles in the short-lived sitcoms Cursed (NBC, 2000–01), Rodney (ABC, 2004–06), and Aliens in America (The CW, 2007–08).

Early life
Pietz was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the adopted daughter of Nancy, a nurse, and Arnold Pietz, a truck driver. She trained throughout her childhood in ballet and prepared to go professional, but eventually decided against it due to the low pay and shifted her focus elsewhere.

She attended the Milwaukee High School of the Arts and graduated from The Theatre School at DePaul University.

Career
Pietz began her career playing small roles on television series such as Star Trek: The Next Generation, as well as films Rudy (1993) and Jingle All the Way (1996). In 1995, she was regular cast member on the short-lived The WB sitcom Muscle, before her breakthrough role as Annie Spadaro in the NBC sitcom Caroline in the City starring Lea Thompson. The series aired from 1995 to 1999. She was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for the role in 1999.

The following year, Pietz went to star alongside Steven Weber on the NBC sitcom Cursed. The series was canceled after a single season in 2001. She later played Martha Boswell in the stage musical The Boswell Sisters.

From 2004 to 2006, she appeared in ABC sitcom Rodney. During 2007–08 season, she played the mother in The CW sitcom Aliens in America. She also had guest starring roles on Ally McBeal, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Division, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Burn Notice, The Closer, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Nip/Tuck, Desperate Housewives, Two and a Half Men, Mom, and How to Get Away with Murder. She had a recurring role as Donna in the NBC comedy series The Office in 2010.

In 2011, Pietz played Meredith King, the mother of Chloe King, in the short-lived ABC Family drama series The Nine Lives of Chloe King. In 2016, she was cast as lead character's boss in The CW comedy-drama series No Tomorrow.

In 2016, Pietz guest-starred in the 4th season of Marc Maron's IFC series Maron as Natalie, a fellow rehab patient. In 2019, she starred as Ralph Dibny's mother in The Flash.

Personal life
Pietz married actor Kenneth Alan Williams in 1997 in her native Milwaukee. Pietz gave birth to a son when she was 23, Benjamin, whom she subsequently placed for adoption.

title: Amy Pietz


text:
User:80N/sandpit/New Britain/meta/shortname

New Britain


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Messeturm

The Messeturm, or Trade Fair Tower, is a 63-storey, 257 m skyscraper in the Westend-Süd district of Frankfurt, Germany. It is the second tallest building in Frankfurt, the second tallest building in Germany and the third tallest building in the European Union. It was the tallest building in Europe from its completion in 1990 until 1997 when it was surpassed by the Commerzbank Tower, which is also located in Frankfurt.

The Messeturm is located near the Frankfurt Trade Fair grounds. Helmut Jahn designed the Messeturm in a postmodern architectural style. It is regarded as one of the design classics among European skyscrapers. Despite its name, the Messeturm is not used for trade fair exhibitions but as an office building. It is one of the few buildings in Germany with their own postal code (60308), the others being Opernturm, another Frankfurt skyscraper, and the summit station on Zugspitze.

When Germany submitted its application to have Frankfurt selected as the seat of the European Union's Anti-money-laundering authority (AMLA) in 2023, the Messeturm was one of three options – alongside Tower 185 – presented as potential location for the new agency.

Design
The Messeturm is similar in design to towers by other architects including the Bank of America Plaza in Atlanta, Georgia and Key Tower (1991) in Cleveland, Ohio. Frankfurters often call it Bleistift ("pencil") due to its shape. The construction of the building's foundation set a world record for the longest continuous concrete pour. Ninety trucks poured concrete for 78 hours into the 6 m deep foundation. Its ground floor area is just 1681 m2, and features a 36.3 m pyramid at the top.

The tower uses numerous geometric shapes in its design such as the square footprint which is the main shape used throughout the tower. It then rises to a cylindrical shape which finally completes in a pyramid.

There are 900 parking places in a public parking garage and a direct connection to the subway.

In popular culture

 * SimCity series
 * MesseTurm appears under the name Hogan Wallace and White Insurance as a vanilla stage 8 Euro-Contemporary building set in SimCity 4 (Deluxe or with Rush Hour).
 * There is a building that has a similar appearance to the Messeturm in SimCity 3000.

title: Messeturm


text: Category:Images of cities

authors: ಮಲ್ನಾಡಾಚ್ ಕೊಂಕ್ಣೊ

title: Category:Images of cities


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Arbir

An Arbir is an Indonesian weapon, a halberd, approximately 5 ft long.

The staff has a shallow groove running along its length marking the plane of the blade, allowing the user to determine exactly where the cutting edge is at all times. The Arbir is one of three special weapons used by members of the Persatuan Pencak Silat Selurah Indonesia (PPSI).

title: Arbir


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Mawanella

Mawanella is a town which belongs to the Kegalle district in the Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It lies between Kegalle and Kadugannawa along the Colombo-Kandy road. The area consists of four administrative areas, namely Mawanella, Aranayake, Rambukkana and Hemmathagama.

Demographics
Mawanella Division has a population of 111,727. Urban areas of the Town are mostly inhabited by Sinhalese and Muslim people respectively. With a small Tamil minority. Others include Malay, Burgher, Indian Tamils.

Source:statistics.gov.lk

Economy
Business is the way of living for majority of the people. There are plenty of Teachers in this town. Education sector also is another income source of the people in this area.

Products
The crops include rice, tea, rubber, pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, vegetables and various types spices. Mawanella is also famous for its traditional handicrafts, especially the pottery, brass-ware and tobacco related industry. There are over 50 pottery shops in Annasigala area along the Colombo to Kandy road.

Climate and Geology
Mawanella belongs to the Tropical Evergreen region of central Sri Lanka. The altitude of the area varies from 180m to 260 m above sea level. The average annual rainfall lies between 2500 and 4500 ml, and temperature of the region ranges between 22 degrees and 35 degrees Celsius. It receives most of the rain from Southwest Monsoon. The average wind speed has been measured to be approximately 7.2 km/hour and humidity in the range lies between 57% and 90%. The whole region is mountainous, but the most famous mountain is the Bathalegala or Bible Rock. Devanagala and Alagalla are another two mountains in the area. There is also a waterway called Maa Oya running very close to the town and there is a village called Bootawa, where two waterways called Maa Oya and Higulu Oya are joining near a Bridge called Bootawa Bridge situated in Mawanella to Rambukkana Road. The historic Mawanella Bridge built to cross the Maha Oya by the British, during their colonial ruler. A modern concrete bridge was constructed in 2005, immediately north of the old bridge.

Government/Religious Education
There are 3 educational divisions -Aranayake, Mawanella and Rambukana under Mawanella Educational Zone. There are 22,019 students and 54 schools in Mawanella, 16,517 students and 43 schools in Rambukkana and 12,964 students and 48 schools in Aranayake division totaling 51,500 students and 145 schools. 19 of the 145 total schools are Muslim schools. The most prestigious schools in the area are Mayurapada Central College, Rivisanda Central College, Zahira College, and Baduriya College. Buddhist Sunday schools a.k.a. "Daham Pasal", Islam schools such as Ahadiya or Madrasah and other religious schools provide a key element in religious education.

Private Education
Private educational institutes also play a major role in education. There are three international schools and large number of tuition institutes in the area. A large percentage of students seek these institutions, although the quality and standards of them remains questionable.

History
Mawanella is historically famous for Uthuwan Kande Soora Saradiel - a native who fought against British colonialism. He is known as the Robin Hood of Ceylon/ Sri Lanka as he looted the wealth from British officers and their local counterparts only to distribute it among the poor villagers. Deekirikewagela Saradiel was born in 1832 to his father Deekirikewage Adasi Appu - a bullocart driver and Molligoda Pichohami - a small coffee shop owner. The natives were under heavy economical and political pressure from unfair taxes under British rule and were rebelling against as best way they could. Saradiel was accompanied by fellow natives namely Mammale Marikkar, Baya, Hawadiya, Samat etc.

In order to evade his arrest, Saradiel, decided not to remain in one single place permanently, for the sake of his own safety. While he was thus taking refuge in the homes of his friends, on March 17, 1864, a police team under the command of Head Constable Amath surrounded the house where Saradiel had been hiding, with the help of some of the residents of that area who had given them the tip-off, which resulted in the death on the spot of George Van Haught, a member of the police search party, due to a gunshot wound.

Also, while Muttusamy and Christian Appu, two of his other accomplices received grievous injuries and two others were slightly injured, while they were thus engaged in the fracas, Saradiel and Mammale Marikkar succeeded in escaping. Subsequently, the Police team including Police Sergeant Mahath and Police Constable Sabab, set out on March 21, 1864, to arrest Saradiel on the information given by the informant, one Sirimala. Based on this information, when the Police team surrounded the house belonging to Abdul Cader of Mawenelle searching for Saradiel, he attempted to shoot Sergeant Mahath.

But Sergeant Mahath outsmarted Saradiel by shooting him first, which resulted in Saradiel falling to the ground from the upstairs where he had been hiding. Due to a gunshot fired from the upstairs by Mammale Marikkar, a member of Saradiel’s gang, the Police Constable Saban was killed. This was the first time ever a police officer died on duty in Sri Lankan Police history and since, March 21 is commemorated as the Police Day. Saradiel was later executed by the British after a short trial.

People from Mawanella

 * General Cyril Ranatunga

title: Mawanella


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Downset

Downset may refer to:
 * Downset lattice
 * Down set
 * Downset., an American rap metal band
 * downset., the 1994 self-titled debut studio album
 * "Downset", the title track of the self-titled 1994 album by downset.

title: Downset


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Michael Jackson (actor)

Michael Jackson (born November 8, 1970) is a Canadian actor, grip and gaffer. He is known for his acting role as "Trevor" in the comedy TV series Trailer Park Boys (2001–2018) and the later film Trailer Park Boys: The Movie (2006).

Jackson was born in Ottawa, Ontario.

He has contributed to the local music scene with many group and solo projects, including Moral Support, Aimless, Thruster, The Thursday Toads, Pink Kitten, Defense Andrew, The Sycamores, Rick of The Skins, El Groupo De Rock, Vavoom, T-Bag, The Olympian and most recently Doug Mason. He is also an IATSE 849 member and has been working as a grip since 1998.

In addition to his role as Trevor, Jackson was also a production assistant behind the scenes for seasons 2–6. During this time, Jackson and many of the other actors on the show were paid minimum scale (wage) despite the show's growing success. Tension grew between the producers (Barrie Dunn and Mike Volpe) and Jackson due to working conditions and creative disagreements. Jackson gave notice that he would leave the show after season 6, as he was close friends with the series' creator Mike Clattenburg. Although Jackson had one more season to fulfill on his contract, no legal action was taken against him.

The producers and writers did not directly address the issue of Cory and Trevor leaving the show at the end of season 6, even though they knew of trevors impending departure for some time beforehand. Their departure from Sunnyvale was addressed in season 7 and their names have been part of the continuing storyline. Cory Bowles returned for Season 8 as part of the show's Netflix reboot and has since appeared in each following season, with Jacob Rolfe's Jacob Collins character filling Jackson's role as Cory's sidekick, as Jackson declined to return to the show. In season eight, Cory explained that he and Trevor were exploring the world, but got separated on a subway train in New York City. In season 10, Bowles is credited as a director on some episodes.

Filmography
Actor – Film titles and associated role:
 * Eastern Shore (2007)
 * Trailer Park Boys: The Movie (2006) .... Trevor
 * ... a.k.a. Les trailer Park Boys – Le film (Canada: French title)
 * ... a.k.a. Trailer Park Boys: Baked on a True Story (USA: promotional title)

 * "Trailer Park Boys" .... Trevor (46 episodes, 2001–2018)
 * The Trailer Park Boys Christmas Special (2004) (TV) .... Trevor
 * Trailer Park Boys (1999) .... Trevor

Crewman – Film titles and associated crew job:
 * Ice Castles (2009) (TV) (filming) (grip)
 * Jesse Stone: No Remorse (2009) (TV) (post-production) (grip)
 * Jesse Stone: Thin Ice (2009) (TV) (grip)
 * The Tenth Circle (2008) (TV) (grip) (uncredited)
 * The Memory Keeper's Daughter (2008) (TV) (grip)
 * Wedding Wars (2006) (TV) (grip)
 * Candles on Bay Street (2006) (TV) (grip)
 * The Colonel Ignacio Santillan (2005) (V) (gaffer)
 * The Dive from Clausen's Pier (2005) (TV) (grip)
 * Sleep Murder (2004) (TV) (grip)
 * She's Too Young (2004) (TV) (grip)
 * Footsteps (2003) (TV) (grip)
 * The Christmas Shoes (2002) (TV) (grip) (uncredited)
 * ... a.k.a. Les souliers de Noël (Canada: French title)

 * My Little Eye (2002) (best boy grip)
 * Julie Walking Home (2002) (grip)
 * ... a.k.a. The Healer (Australia: Pay-TV title) (USA: DVD title)
 * ... a.k.a. Julia wraca do domu (Poland)
 * ... a.k.a. Julies Reise (Germany)
 * ... a.k.a. Le retour de Julie (Canada: French title)

 * Too Young to Be a Dad (2002) (TV) (grip)
 * ... a.k.a. A Family's Decision (USA)
 * ... a.k.a. Too Young to Be a Father (USA)
 * ... a.k.a. Trop jeune pour être père (Canada: French title)

 * The Pilot's Wife (2002) (TV) (best boy grip)
 * ... a.k.a. La femme du pilote (Canada: French title)

 * "Trailer Park Boys" (2001) TV series (key grip) (unknown episodes)
 * Blue Hill Avenue (2001) (best boy grip)
 * Passion and Prejudice (2001) (TV) (grip)
 * "Blackfly" (2001) TV series (grip) (unknown episodes)
 * Parsley Days (2000) (best boy grip)
 * The Weight of Water (2000) (grip)
 * ... a.k.a. Le poids de l'eau (France)

 * Rain (2000/I) (best boy grip)
 * Trailer Park Boys (1999) (key grip)

title: Michael Jackson (actor)


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Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/The Sect of Homokaasu

 This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion of the article below. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was no consensus to delete, therefore keep moink 01:44, 10 May 2005 (UTC)

The Sect of Homokaasu
Tagged as, this is really only a promo for an online community of 100000+ members who oppose mind control. So what? Zzyzx11 | Talk 23:48, 24 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete, although, y'know, someone *could* have been controlling my mind to make me say that... maybe I'll sign up! (yes I am being sarcastic) Master Thief Garrett 02:28, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete, not notable, promo. Megan1967 04:29, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete, not notable.   — J I P | Talk 04:30, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep. Isn't 100000 members fairly significant? This Finnish site (only called The Sect of in English) seems to warrant inclusion. "Homokaasu" gets over 36000 google hits. I'm not a member or anything, but I might try to expand the page if it would get anyone to vote differently. -Tim Rhymeless (Er...let's shimmy)  02:19, 29 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep. What is wrong with articles about online communities? 100K+ users seems to be fairly major. Maybe not as big as the readership of sites like Slashdot, and Fark.com, but possibly more than Something Awful and many other online communities/sites that all have wikipedia articles. If the article can be expanded to provide background info about the group then perhaps it can be useful like the above mentioned ones. --Vanchuck 05:25, Apr 29, 2005 (UTC)

 * This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like some other VfD subpages, is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion, or the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.


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Talk:Bolívar's campaign to liberate New Granada

Earlier presence of Bolivar in New Granada
The article, in its current form, is lacking information on Bolivar's previous activities in New Granada, specifically around 1812 and 1814. Perhaps the current content should be moved towards a "Bolívar and New Granada 1819-1820" entry, while a new "Bolívar in New Granada 1812-1814" article should be created. No promises, but I'll see if I can try to add some information on this later in the week, but in the meanwhile I'm writing this here as a note/comment for those that might be concerned... Juancarlos2004 23:48, 24 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Controversy over the aggregation of the British Legion in the infobox
Unification of the discussion in one place. (see here) --Muwatallis II (talk) 02:53, 28 September 2018 (UTC)

There is edit warring going on over the British in the infobox. It appears two editors do not agree, but have been edit-warring rather than discussing here. Which is what we do when we clearly need consensus for an edit. Alternatively, one of you start a Request for Comment or similar dispute resolution method. Further edit-warring may result in blocks. Thanks, Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:14, 1 October 2018 (UTC)

 * Hello Peacemaker67 we have discussed the issue here, here and here. However it has now become more of a repitition in the disscussions. Starting a Request for Comment sounds like a good plan. Thanks. Eastfarthingan (talk) 11:23, 1 October 2018 (UTC)

Needs urgent review: quality of writing and citations
This article has two major issues:

- Much of the article has very bad grammar - excessively long sentences, incorrect and or missing punctuation. This impedes clarity.

- The article lacks sufficient citations. Most of it is just written in continuous prose without any references. Issues of reliability may follow. I know very little about the subject, but someone who does and has good sources needs to urgently review and / or rewrite this article. Lompom (talk) 14:52, 24 March 2024 (UTC)


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Vidigueira

Vidigueira ( or ) is a town and a municipality in the District of Beja in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 5,932, in an area of 316.61 km2.

The present Mayor is Manuel Rosa Narra, elected by the Unitary Democratic Coalition. The municipal holiday is Ascension Day. The archaeological site of the Roman Ruins of Villa Áulica and Convent of São Cucufate are situated near Vidigueira.

Parishes
Administratively, the municipality is divided into 4 civil parishes (freguesias):
 * Pedrógão
 * Selmes
 * Vidigueira
 * Vila de Frades

Notable people

 * Vasco da Gama (c.1460s – 1524) the Portuguese navigator, was made Count of Vidigueira by King Manuel I on the return from his discovery of the maritime route from Europe to India
 * Achilles Statius (1524 in Vidigueira – 1581) humanist poet and commentator
 * Forebears of radical Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza (1662-1677) lived in Vidigueira since at least the 16th century, before escaping from the Portuguese Inquisition to the Dutch Republic. A number of them were employed in service to the counts of Vidigueira.

title: Vidigueira


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Serpa

Serpa is a city and a Concelho (municipality) in the central Portuguese region Alentejo. The population in 2011 was 15,623, in an area of 1105.63 km2. The Guadiana River flows close to the town of Serpa.

History
Serpa has its origins in early settlement that preceded the Roman occupation of the Iberian peninsula. The neighbouring town of Beja (known as Pax Julia by the Romans) became the capital of southern Lusitanian (Pacensis). Serpa grew through the settlement of Roman colonists, with proof coming from various archaeological remains within the Roman villa.

Moorish settlement followed this period, and remained until the Reconquista (the Christian re-conquest of Iberia).

As a result of Serpa's proximity to the Spanish border, the town has always been a defensive stronghold. In the 13th century, owing to its location on the left bank of the Guadiana, it was occupied by forces loyal to Castile.

On 1281, King D. Alfonso X of Castile delimited the municipality, attributing a Foral (charter) to the town, from Seville, in order to encourage settlement and expansion.

Following the Reconquista, in 1295, Serpa received a new foral from Portuguese King D. Dinis. The local keep that dominated Serpa was partly damaged as a result of the last Spanish invasion. At that time, the king ordered the re-construction of the castle, as well as the erection of a wall fortification.

A new foral was issued in 1513, by King D. Manuel I, who was the former master of Serpa. During the 17th century, the walls and system of bastions were adapted to serve as a defensive line by Nicolau de Langres (1665). On 30 January 1954, the walls of Serpa were classified as a Monumento Nacional (National Monument).

Following the Carnation Revolution (in 1974), the Portuguese Communist Party gained strong support in the area, where it continues to be popular.

On 26 August 2003, the town of Serpa was elevated to city status. Meanwhile, on 28 January 2013, the historic centre of Serpa (that included the principal civil parishes) of São Salvador and Santa Maria, was re-incorporated into a single civil parish (Decree 11-A/2013, Diário da República, Série 1, 19).

Geography
Administratively, the municipality is divided into five civil parishes:
 * Brinches
 * Pias
 * Serpa (Salvador e Santa Maria)
 * Vila Nova de São Bento e Vale de Vargo
 * Vila Verde de Ficalho

Economy
The area surrounding Serpa consists mostly of farms and cultivated lands of wheat, that have traditionally been the staple of the local economy, employing many people. Due to the area's strong agricultural reliance, the local population has traditionally been agrarian farmers and sheepherders. This has also resulted in the production of its spicy and strong-smelling cheeses, produced in the area and commercialized throughout Portugal. Slightly to the northeast, in the region of Pias, the area cultivates vineyards in order to produce local wines.

On 27 April 2006, GE Energy Financial Services, PowerLight Corporation and Catavento Lda. announced that they would build one of the world's largest solar photovoltaic power projects at a single site in Serpa. The 11-megawatt solar power station, comprising 52,000 photovoltaic modules, would be built in one of Europe's sunniest areas. The power station was inaugurated on 28 March 2007.

Culture
Urban residents of Lisbon, Beja and other cities maintain country homes in Serpa, or take weekend breaks to the area as a result of Serpa's rural location and laid back lifestyle.

Local and regional specialties include Shepherd's Lamb Stew, a Clam and Pork dish and Sweet Potato Pastries.

Notable people

 * Jorge de Melo (1460-1534) a nobleman, member of the Court of John III of Portugal
 * Vasco Fernandes Coutinho (1490–1561) a fidalgo and the first donatary of the Captaincy of Espírito Santo in Brazil
 * Estêvão de Brito (c.1570–1641) a composer of polyphony
 * José Correia da Serra (1750–1823) an abbot, polymath, philosopher, diplomat, politician and scientist
 * Etelvina Lopes de Almeida (1916-2004) a writer, journalist, broadcaster and politician
 * Nicolau Breyner (1940–2016) a playwright, director and actor.
 * Filipe La Féria (born 1945) a director, producer and screenwriter for TV and theatre.
 * Luísa Basto (born 1947) a political singer
 * Nelo Vingada (born 1953) a football manager

Sources and external links

 * Watch & Clock Museum
 * Planicie Dourada Tourist Region
 * Photos from Serpa

title: Serpa


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Ourique

Ourique is a city in the District of Beja in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 5,389, in an area of 663.31 km2.

This town is traditionally considered the site of the famous Battle of Ourique in 1139, which saw the forces of Portuguese Prince Afonso Henriques defeat a Muslim Almoravid force. The present Mayor is Marcelo Guerreiro, elected by the Socialist Party, who became the youngest Mayor in Portugal, aged 25, in 2015. The municipal holiday is September 8.

Battle of Ourique
There is no certainty about the exact location of the battle of Ourique, although it is typically said to have taken place in the countryside between the towns of Castro Verde and Ourique. Five Muslim kings allied their forces against the Portuguese army, but after a terrible and lengthy fight, the allied forces became scattered in the Alentejo plains. This would later be considered by the Portuguese to have been a divine miracle, forever forming part of the legend of Castro Verde.

According to most accounts of the legend, Afonso Henriques was visited before the battle by an old man who saw in a dream that Henriques would be victorious because God would intervene to help him. The old man advised the Henriques to leave the encampment alone when he heard the bell of the local chapel. Riding off, Henriques was surprised by a ray of light that showed him (in one interpretation) the sign of the cross and Jesus Christ on a crucifix. He knelt in its presence and heard the voice of Jesus Christ telling him he would defeat the Moors. The following day, he succeeded in routing the Moors (through his own courage and faith, as the stories go) and was almost immediately declared the king of Portugal. He would include five shields in his coat of arms, representing the five defeated kingdoms. To honor the outstanding victory, then-King D. Sebastião later ordered the construction of St. Peter of the Heads Chapel.

Parishes
Administratively, the municipality is divided into 4 civil parishes (freguesias):
 * Garvão e Santa Luzia
 * Ourique
 * Panóias e Conceição
 * Santana da Serra

Notable people

 * José Júlio da Costa (1893–1946) a Portuguese left-wing political activist who assassinated President Sidónio Pais of Portugal in 1918

title: Ourique


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Odemira

Odemira ( or ) is a town and a municipality in Beja District in the Portuguese region of Alentejo. The population in 2011 was 26,066, in an area of 1720.60 km2, making it the largest municipality of Portugal by area.

It is famous for its wild beaches and for being home to a significant Dutch and German community. The village of Zambujeira do Mar is home to the Festival do Sudoeste, one of the biggest rock festivals in Europe.

The municipality of Odemira has great agricultural potential, specially in the western area of the region, and is home to major operations of important agricultural companies like Vitacress, world leader in the salad market.

The present Mayor is Hélder António Guerreiro, elected by the Socialist Party in 2021. The municipal holiday is 8 September.

Geography
The municipality of Odemira is located in southwestern Portugal, bordered by the municipalities of Sines and Santiago do Cacém to the north, Ourique to the east, and the Algarvian municipalities of Aljezur and Monchique to the south.

Much of the municipality is within the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Nature Park.

Climate
Odemira has a Mediterranean climate. Winters are mild and rainy, with daytime temperatures usually around 16 C and nighttime lows around 6 C. Summers are dry and sunny and are hot in the interior of the municipality (maxima is around 31 C bordering Ourique) and warm at the coast (where maxima is around 25 C).

Parishes
Administratively, the municipality is divided into 13 civil parishes (freguesias):

 * Boavista dos Pinheiros
 * Colos
 * Longueira / Almograve
 * Luzianes-Gare
 * Relíquias
 * Sabóia
 * Santa Clara-a-Velha
 * São Luís
 * São Martinho das Amoreiras
 * São Salvador e Santa Maria
 * São Teotónio
 * Vale de Santiago
 * Vila Nova de Milfontes

Notable people

 * Pedro Damiano (1480–1544) a Portuguese chess player and pharmacist by profession
 * Pedro de Almada Pereira (1835 in Odemira – 1911) an Alentejan landowner, schoolmaster and journalist, founded the periodical O Campo de Ourique

title: Odemira


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Moura, Portugal

Moura is a city and a municipality in the District of Beja in Portugal, subdivided into 5 freguesias. The population in 2011 was 15,167, in an area of 958.46 km2. The city itself had a population of 8,459 in 2001. It has now around 11,000 inhabitants.

The current Mayor is José Pós de Mina, elected by the Unitary Democratic Coalition. The municipal holiday is 24 June.

It is home to Moura Photovoltaic Power Station, one of Europe's largest solar-power facilities.

Parishes
Administratively, the municipality is divided into 5 civil parishes (freguesias):
 * Amareleja
 * Moura (Santo Agostinho e São João Baptista) e Santo Amador
 * Póvoa de São Miguel
 * Safara e Santo Aleixo da Restauração
 * Sobral da Adiça

Climate
Moura has a Mediterranean climate with very hot, dry summers and mild winters. It is one of the driest areas in Portugal with just over 400 mm of precipitation.

Town Twinning
Moura has cooperation agreements with the following cities:

 * Aroche, Spain, since 1994
 * 🇬🇼 Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, since 1997
 * Amareleja-Valencia del Mombuey, Spain, since 2000
 * 🇹🇳 Medjez El Bab, Tunisia, since 1995
 * 🇮🇹 Roccagorga, Italy

Other towns with the same name include:

 * 🇦🇺 Moura, Australia

Notable people

 * Corino Andrade (1906–2005) a leading neurologist and researcher who first described the familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP) syndrome
 * Eunice Muñoz (born 1928 in Amareleja) a Portuguese actress
 * Gonçalo Abecasis (born 1976) a Portuguese American biomedical researcher at the University of Michigan
 * Miguel Garcia (born 1983) a former footballer with 228 club caps

title: Moura, Portugal


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Mértola

Mértola is a town and municipality in southeastern Portuguese Alentejo near the Spanish border. In 2011, the population was 7,274, in an area of approximately 1292.87 km2: it is the sixth-largest municipality in Portugal. Meanwhile, it is the second-lowest population centre by density with approximately 5.62 persons/1 km2 (second to the adjacent Alcoutim).

The seat of the municipality is the town of Mértola, which has around 2800 inhabitants (2011), located on a hill over the Guadiana River. Its strategic location made it an important fluvial commercial port in Classical Antiquity, through the period of Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Mértola's main church (the Church of Nossa Senhora da Anunciação) was the only medieval mosque to have survived the period in Portugal.

In 2017 Mértola started the process to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Romans
Mértola was inhabited at least since the Iron Age at least by Conni and Cynetes settlements, was influenced by the Phoenicians and finally named Myrtilis Iulia by the Romans.

The strategic location of Mértola, on a hill by the northernmost navigable part of the Guadiana river, was crucial in its early development. Agricultural products grown in the villae nearby and valuable minerals (silver, gold and tin) obtained from the lower Alentejo region were sent from the fluvial port of Mértola via the Guadiana to Southern Hispania and the Mediterranean.

Between 1st and 2nd century, Myrtilis, was part of the larger Pacensis region (under the capital Beja/Pax Julia), acquired a great importance, as a dynamic commercial centre, permitting it to mint its own coin. The town was raised to the status of a Municipium in times of Emperor Augustus and was connected to important Roman cities (Beja, Évora) through a road system.

Germanic tribes
During the Migration Period, Mértola was invaded by Germanic tribes of the Sueves and the Visigoths. In this period (5th-8th centuries) commerce was reduced but still active, as evidenced by Greek tombstones from the 6th-7th centuries found in Mértola which suggest the presence of Byzantine merchants in the town.

Moors
Around the year 711, Hispania was invaded by the Moors from the Maghreb, inaugurating a period of great influence of Islamic culture in the Alentejo region that would last over 400 years. Mértola and its port played an important economic role in the commerce of agricultural and mineral goods between the Alentejo and other parts of Al-Andalus and Northern Africa.

Mértola had a wall dating from Roman times, but the Muslims built new fortifications and, eventually, a castle to protect it from rival Muslim and Christian states. After the fall of the Caliphate of Córdoba, in 1031, Mértola became an independent taifa state, until it was conquered by the taifa of Seville in 1044-1045. Between 1144 and 1150 the town was again seat of an independent state led by Ibn Qasi, a mystic and skilled military leader who unified Southern Portugal and fought the power of the Almoravides. The independence of the region, however, was soon ended by an invading Almohad army. The most important remnant from the Islamic period in Portugal is Mértola's ancient mosque, built in the second half of the 12th century and later turned into a church, but keeping original architectural characteristics.

Reconquista
In 1238, in the context of the Reconquista, the town was conquered by Portuguese King Sancho II, putting an end on several centuries of Islamic rule in the Mértola region. The town was donated to the Knights of the Order of St. James, a Military Order that played a vital role in the Christian conquest of Southern Portugal. The seat of the Order was established in Mértola until 1316. From the Reconquista time date most of the castle, including its mighty keep, and a letter of feudal rights (foral), granted in 1254.The economic importance of Mértola and the Guadiana faded after that period.

In the 15th-16th centuries, when the Portuguese conquered several cities in the Maghreb, Mértola experienced a brief revival in its economic relevance, supplying Portuguese troops in Northern Africa with cereals. King Manuel I granted a new foral to the town in 1512.

Modernity
After a long period of economic stagnation, the discovery of copper in the São Domingos Mine around 1850 led to a new wave of development that would end abruptly in 1965, when the mine was exhausted. In the next decades, the municipality lost much of its population, who emigrated to richer parts of Portugal and other European countries. Starting in the 1980s, a series of archaeological surveys brought to light various remnants of past periods of Mértola, and the town became an important cultural touristic site.

Geography
Administratively, the municipality is divided into 7 civil parishes (freguesias):
 * Alcaria Ruiva
 * Corte do Pinto
 * Espírito Santo
 * Mértola
 * Santana de Cambas
 * São João dos Caldeireiros
 * São Miguel do Pinheiro, São Pedro de Solis e São Sebastião dos Carros

Climate
Mértola has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa) with hot to very hot dry summers and mild wet winters.

Main sights

 * The castle of Mértola, located on the highest point of the town. The current building dates from a reconstruction carried out by the knights of the Order of Saint James of the Sword after the town was taken by the Christians. The most notable feature of the castle is its 30-metre-high keep tower, finished around 1292, which has an inner hall covered with Gothic vaulting. The defences include a city wall, which still encircles the town.

 * Main church (the Matriz), was originally a mosque built between the 12th and 13th centuries. After the Christian conquest of the town, in 1238, the mosque was turned into a church, but its architectonic structure was preserved. In the 16th century the church was partially remodelled, gaining Manueline vaulting with a new roof and a new main portal in Renaissance style. Nevertheless, the inner arrangement of the naves of the church, with four naves and several columns, still resembles that of the original mosque, and in the church interior even the [mihrab] niche decorations pointing to Mecca for prayers, was spared from destruction. Outside, the church has four portals with horseshoe arches, typical of Islamic architecture. This is the only structure of the Islamic period, left mostly unaltered in Portugal.

 * The museum of Mértola, consisting mostly of archaeological findings and excavations, with collections distributed all over the town. The nucleus of Islamic art in the museum is the most important in Portugal. It consists of various objects (pottery, glassware, metalwork, coins) dating from that period. The collection is housed in the old cellars of the noblemen of the House of Braganza. Other exhibits include remnants of an ancient Christian church, of the basilica type, with an active cult lasting from the 5th to the 8th century. It has a large collection of palaeochristian tombstones with inscriptions; and excavations of a Roman house found under the Municipality building.

Festivals

 * Festival Islâmico de Mértola - Celebrating the Islamic cultural connection between Islam and Mértola. Occurs every two years.

Notable people

 * Juan Díaz de Solís (1470–1516) a 16th-century navigator and explorer, said to be the first European to land on Uruguay.
 * António Raposo Tavares (1598–1658) a colonial bandeirante who explored mainland eastern South America
 * José Sebastião e Silva (1914–1972) a mathematician, worked on analytic functionals and the theory of distributions
 * Fernando Venâncio (born 1944) a writer, intellectual, literary critic, linguist and academic.

title: Mértola


text:
Ferreira do Alentejo

Ferreira do Alentejo, or simply Ferreira, is a town and a municipality in Beja District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 8,255, in an area of 648.25 km2.

The human activity in the municipality dates back to antiquity, with evidence of prehistoric and Roman settlement. The village was later part of the Order of Santiago da Espada, having its first charter passed on 5 March 1516 by King Manuel I.

The present Mayor is Aníbal Coelho Costa, elected by the Socialist Party. The municipal holiday is March 5.

Parishes
Administratively, the municipality is divided into 4 civil parishes (freguesias):
 * Alfundão e Peroguarda
 * Ferreira do Alentejo e Canhestros
 * Figueira dos Cavaleiros
 * Odivelas

title: Ferreira do Alentejo


text:
User:80N/sandpit

Nothing to see here, move along please.

title: User:80N/sandpit


text:
Cuba, Portugal

Cuba is a town and municipality in the District of Beja in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 4,878, in an area of 172.09 km2.

The current mayor (since 2013) is João Português. The municipal holiday is Monday after Easter.

History
The name "Cuba" is likely of Arabic origin, pertaining to the qubba, that is cupola or domed tombs of ascetic spiritual leaders. Such toponyms are frequent in Southern Portugal and likely related to the Sufi movements that flourished during the period of Almoravid decay, such as the one led by Ibn Qasi.

In the 20th century, a small number of scholars sought to make Columbus a Portuguese man. One of these attempts had him born in the town of Cuba, after which he would have named the Caribbean island (see possible birthplace of Christopher Columbus). A statue honouring the explorer can be seen in the city centre.

Parishes
Administratively, the municipality is divided into four civil parishes (freguesias):
 * Cuba
 * Faro do Alentejo
 * Vila Alva
 * Vila Ruiva

Notable people

 * Diogo Dias Melgás (1638 in Cuba, Alentejo - 1700) a Portuguese composer of late-Renaissance sacred polyphony.

title: Cuba, Portugal


text:
Castro Verde

Castro Verde is a town and a municipality of the Alentejo region of Portugal (in the historic district of Beja). The population in 2011 was 7,276, in an area of 569.44 km2. Castro Verde is situated in the Baixo Alentejo subregion, within a territory known locally as the Campo Branco (White Plains). The municipality can be recognized by the local municipal markers along its borders, that appear within its borders to denote its reference as A Window on the Plains; municipal markers appear as stylized house profiles, with an exaggerated window that allows the visitor to see through into the panorama.

History
The pre-History of the Baixo Alentejo Subregion dates back to 200,000 B.C. when the territory was crossed by migratory Neanderthal peoples from the north of Europe in the Lower Paleolithic period. Until their extinction, around 28,000 B.C., Neanderthal man hunted and foraged in present-day Portugal. Later, the area was home to several cultures due to the abundance of minerals and its commercial and strategic place along the Mediterranean. The earliest settlements began with Celtiberians, from the central Iberian Peninsula around the 6th Century B.C., and were followed by the Celts. From the 3rd Century, tribal clans were replaced by organized oppidum, a fortified organized city with a defined territory that included many castro villages constructed from large boulders or earthworks.

The first evidence of early cultures in the area of Castro Verde was the discovery of the 'Syllabary of Espança', which was found near the village of Neves-Corvo in the civil parish of Santa Bárbara de Padrões. This archaeological stone contains a Southwest Paleohispanic script, using Tartessian script and language, identified as being the most ancient paleohispanic script; related to the Phoenician alphabet, it is the closest European connection to the Phoenician culture. The Tartessian culture was the precursors of the Turdetani peoples of the Roman period. Growth of settlements during the classic period were likely associated with the strategic importance of the Iberian Pyrite zone. Castro Verde lies along a transport route linking the mines of Aljustrel (20 km to the north) with the port city of Mértola (40 km to the east) situated on tributaries of the Guadiana river. During the Roman occupation, the extensive mining and warehousing of minerals required protective fortifications and mineral warehouses: in the Castro Verde territory there are remains of more than 20 such small structures. Along with mining activities, the area became a vast area of grain production and cattle/sheep-grazing. The richness and abundance of these combined 'base economies' grew to such extent that Castro Verde became a regional centre of commerce and thus a crossroad of cultures within the Mediterranean area.

The name origin of Castro Verde dates back to this early period, with two interpretations cited for its name. One postulates that the name was derived from the Roman Castra Castrorum and combined the verde (meaning "green") to indicate new. A more consistent interpretation is that the name was derived from Castrum Veteris, meaning the oldest castro, to differentiate it from another castro that existed on a small plateau (where the Chapel of São Martinho exists) and was abandoned during the Middle Ages. The term castro derived from the Latin castrum refers to a small military encampment or fortification, built of large rocks.

Roman occupation spanned four centuries and was followed by the migration of the Visigoths (300-700 A.C.) their expulsion by the Moors (in 711), and in turn, their expulsion from the area during the Christian Reconquista. The Battle of Ourique, where Afonso I triumphed over five Moorish Kings occurred in São Pedro das Cabeças, approximately five kilometres from the village of Castro Verde, and paved the way for the creation of the Kingdom of Portugal (in the Treaty of Zamora in 1143). As the legend of the Battle describes, the battle lasted two days (between 24 and 25 July 1139) and was so excessively bloody that the waters of Ribeira de Cobres flowed the color of red. Afonso Henriques who was declared Prince of Portugal, after the Battle of São Mamede, defeated the Moorish kings (at the Battle of Ourique), and was then proclaimed King upon the victory. But, although King Afonso was able to triumph, the region was never definitely secured by the Portuguese until the regin of King Sancho II, around 1234, when the Castle of Aljustrel was captured. Later, the Royal Basilica of Castro Verde was commissioned by King Sebastian of Portugal in 1573 to mark the Christian victory over the Moors, with the walls of the central nave covered in azulejos immortalizing the famous battle.

The region of Castro Verde passed into the possession of the priory of the Comenda de Santiago, and its donatários, the Dukes of Aveiro. Castro Verde continued to operate as the central administrative centre and municipal seat, while Casével and Entradas won administrative autonomy. While mineral extraction continued to drive the economy, herding assumed a fundamental part of the regions economy as well. During the 16th and 17th Century, the Campos de Ourique became the destination for many herds from Castela and Serra da Estrela, creating a new economic, social and cultural dimension to the municipality.

Although the human ecology of this territory has been marked by the settlement of many civilizations all based on mining, cereal cultivation and cattle/sheep grazing, it was only in the beginning of the 14th century that territories became organized as distinct economic entities within the new kingdom. During this post-reconquista era, the vast pasture-lands of the Castro Verde area were granted to nobility by King Denis (the Farmer King) which resulted in the management of thousands of hectares under rotational cultivation to become the bread basket of Portugal and the most important pastureland of the country. Over the centuries, the territory has been continually influenced by a transhumance which has left a unique cultural identity in the form of architecture, arts, music, song, and poetry expressing the daily activities of a people living on the land.

In the middle of the 19th century, the surrounding municipal districts were reorganized and Castro Verde was formalized within its current boundaries: it had received its town charter (Foral) in 1510 by King Manuel I of Portugal. The municipality of Castro Verde developed its own particular cultural identity based on millenniums of interchange between cultural groups. From roots in mining and agricultural, the community has transformed into a city, with future plans focused on the integration of Roman and Islamic architecture in modern eco-architecture. Cultural tourism has resurged to keep alive traditional art, music and poetry indigenous to the territory. The year 2010 marked year-long festivities to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the town charters of Castro Verde and Casével.

Physical geography
The Castro Verde area is made up of extensive areas of rolling hills, geomorphological structures referred to as a peneplains, which vary in altitude from 300 to 900 ft (100–300 m.) above sea level. The area has planar relief, with a medium altitude of approximately 200 metres; the lowest point is about 110 metres, in the civil parish of São Marcos da Atabueira, near the Ribeira de Cobres (in northeast frontier with the municipality of Beja). The highest point, at 299 metres, is located at a geodesic marker (Urza) on the Cerro da Bandeira, within the civil parish of Castro Verde. Slopes in this area are between 0-2% grade, although pronounced (15%) along the ravines of Cobres and Maria Delgada, and the vicinity of Ribeira de Oeiras (near the border with Almodôvar). In addition to these rivers, the municipality is crossed by other ribeiras (English: ravines or rivers): Ribeira de Alvacar, Ribeira da Fontinha, Ribeira de Terges, Ribeira da Chada, Ribeira da Sete and Ribeira da Gata.

The soils within the municipality are considered poor, having a reduced capacity to support agriculture, and thus limiting its productive use historically. The subsoils are made-up of essentially granular schists, greywacke, sandstone, and in some areas quartzite, as well as rare volcanic metamorphic particulates with reduced permeability. Further, the municipality of Castro Verde is crossed by the Iberian Pyrite Belt, composed of a massive volcanogenic sulfide deposit (VMS) associated with the polymetallic flanks of volcanic cones in the form of pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena and cassiterite, that begins in Aljustrel, spreads through the lower Alentejo and extends into southern Spain. At a time when Portugal was separated by the sea from the rest of the Iberian Peninsula, a series of events connected to active and hydrothermal volcanism, lead to the formation of the volcano-sedimentary Pyrite complex (when the landmass of Portugal collided into the Iberian peninsula). Castro Verde lies on one of the most important extractive deposits in Europe, that is responsible for sustaining the economy of the region, albeit an area with elevated risk of erosion. Mining activity, as a consequence, dates back thousands of years, with the remains of Roman mining structures identifying the importance of this area to the expansion of Roman metallurgy. In addition to sulfide ore, this southern area of Lusitania, was an abundant source of other minerals, such as gold, silver, copper, tin, lead and iron.

Ecoregions/protected areas
A large part of the municipality is covered by the European Union's Natura 2000 project; it is denoted as a Special Protection Area (SPA) for endangered species of steppe birds such as the great bustard and lesser kestrel.

Climate
Castro Verde has a hot-summer mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa) with some Atlantic influence. It has hot dry summers and mild wet winters. The average annual temperature falls normally between 16 –. During the warmer months, maximum temperatures can reach or exceed 43 C; during the winter, night temperatures can sometimes fall below the freezing point (eight days per year on average). Annual precipitation averages around 450 to 500 mm, 32% of which is concentrated in the two wettest months, November and December, while July and August are the driest receiving some or no precipitation.

Human geography
Castro Verde Municipality is situated within an area commonly known as "Campo Branco", within the plains of the Alentejo that front the Serra do Caldeirão. It is located in the district of Beja, and limited to the north by the municipalities of Beja and Aljustrel, south by the municipality of Almodôvar, east by the municipality of Mértola and west by the municipality of Ourique. Over the past few decades, the population has generally concentrated in the larger urban communities. In 1970, the population of the municipality was 9004 inhabitants, decreasing to 7472 by 1981. Ten years later, it had grown slowly to 7786 residents, although the recent census (2001) indicated a small decrease (fixed at 7603 inhabitants). The literacy rates are relatively high, although 15.7% are considered illiterate. This is accentuated by 70% of the resident population having attained only a primary school level of education.

Parishes
More than 50% of these residents live in the town of Castro Verde (4820 residents); the remaining towns account for the rest: Casével, 365 inhabitants; Entradas, 774 inhabitants; Santa Bárbara dos Padrões, 1271 inhabitants; and São Marcos da Atabueira, 373 inhabitants. With an area 567.2 km2, these communities are scattered in various medium to small localities divided into four civil parishes (Portuguese: freguesias):

 * Castro Verde e Casével
 * Entradas
 * Santa Bárbara de Padrões
 * São Marcos da Ataboeira

Economy
Population growth has primarily been the result developments with the mining industry, and in particular the Neves-Corvo mining complex. Its activities, and related services, civil construction and public works have seen reciprocal growth in municipal services and population. There has also been a parallel growth in mining jobs related to this development, since 1979.

There is a hierarchical distribution of the active workforce: 11.12% are employed in the primary sector, 32.7% in secondary industries, while a majority (56.18%) are employed in tertiary services. This distribution is generally maintained in all communities in the municipality, except Santa Bárbara dos Padrões, where the Neves-Corvo mine is the main employer, and Entradas, where some agriculture and ranching occur.

Transport
Castro Verde is located in a privileged location along a corridor that connects the northern districts to the Algarve, and fundamental access to communication lines:

The airports in Faro (100 km), Lisbon (190 km) and Sevilha (270 km) and the maritime port of Sines (95 km) are conveniently located to access other major centres.

Connections to other locations within the country are made through the road network: to the Litoral Alentejo through Ourique (E.N. 123); to the coastal Algarve (along the A2 and I.C.1); to Lisbon via the A2; to Mértola (on the E.N. 123); to Almodôvar (along the E.N.2); and to Beja and Évora (on the I.P.2).

Within the municipality, public transport connects all localities by at least one service (except on the weekends), and a national Express service connects Castro Verde communities to stations in Beja, Évora, Lisbon and Algarve, in addition to Tomar, Coimbra, Porto, Braga and Elvas.

Civic

 * Commemorative Pillory of the Battle of Ourique (Padrão comemorativo da Batalha de Ourique), originally erected along the northern side the Chapel of São Pedro in 1785, this marker was moved to the site of the municipal council hall around 1960. It had, around 9 May 1792, been modified to include a medallion with the image of Queen Maria II, whose bust was affixed under the words "...of the glorious apparition of Christ Our Father to our first monarch D. Afonso Henriques". During a hurricane, on the evening of the 7–8 December 1803, the monument was damaged at its narrowest point, but reconstructed. It was moved to the civic square in 1960, after being ruined by a lightning strike, wherein only the original staircase, base and the medallion survived the incident;
 * Source of Miracle of Saint Michael (Fonte de Milagre de São Miguel), is a temple enclosing a water well, located 7 km outside of Castro Verde is situated on the property Herdade do Mourão and dates from 1714, having been built during the same period as the Chapel of São Miguel. The chapel is situated nearby on higher ground, but both were originally constructed over pre-existing structures of unconfirmed dates. In 1982, historian Abílio Pereira de Carvalho, appointed by his regent in Lisbon to research local history (and teach at the local high school), discovered more than 230 manuscripts under the main altar of the Basilica Real of Castro Verde. His study of the manuscripts revealed information relating the history of the Fonte de Milagre and Chapel of São Miguel, leading him to write a 174-page book, all of which relate to the two sites and the healing activities carried out there for centuries. Published in 1989, by the municipal authority of Castro Verde, the factual material found in the manuscripts details the connection between the two locales and the healing properties of the 'Fonte' (noting regular visits by pilgrims from around the Iberian Peninsula). The site's curative effects were of such significance that King John V (1706–1750) was compelled to become directly involved in the administration of the site. The administration relationship between the "Chapel" and "Fonte" no longer exists and the rich heritage has been hidden from recent history, laying dormant for more than 150 years. However the chapel has been classified by IGESPAR as a Property of Public Interest; and in 2008, the Associação de S. Miguel para Medicina Bio-Energética was formed as a non-profit organisation to research the viability of reestablishing treatment protocols at the 'Fonte de Milagre' since it continues as a powerful area of therapeutic action. The site of the temple and water well has been in a phase recovery since 2009.

Religious

 * Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição (Igreja Matriz de Castro Verde/Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição/Basílica Real de Castro Verde), the basilica dates back to the reign of King John V (1706–1750), and was erected over an older temple, that had already been remodelled in the reign of King Sebastian (1568–1578). Consisting of a central nave, lateral sacristies and two bell towers, one with a clock. Its interior walls are covered in panels of azulejo representing the Battle of Ourique and its ceiling is composed of polychromatic wood, with gold-leaf altars in the Baroque- and Joanino-styles.
 * Church of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios (Igreja Igreja das Chagas do Salvador/Igreja de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios), also referred to as the Church of Our Lord's Stimgmata, is dedicated to Our Lady of Medicine and founded by Afonso Henriques following the . During the 17th Century, the church was mostly in ruins, when Philip II decided to restore the church by collecting funds through a fair (which was first held in 1620); the Feira de Castro would persist until 1834, before it became a secular event of the Baixo Alentejo region. Oil paintings by Diogo Magina (1763–67), representing the Milagre de Ourique (Miracle of Ourique), where an apparition of Jesus Christ appeared to Afonso Henriques, in the vicinity of São Pedro das Cabeças, 5 km from Castro Verde. The single-nave church includes several azulejos depicting flowers, birds and windmills, that were created in the Netherlands.
 * Chapel of São Miguel (English: Chapel of Saint Michael) – Constructed between 1715 and 1728, on the orders of King João V, over the ruins an older church, the construction was remodeled on similar orders of Queen Maria I of Portugal (1760–1779) with a revised interior of azulejos from Lisbon.
 * Chapel of São Sebastião (Ermida de São Sebastião), the simple, single-nave hermitage was also part of the "late", 17th century Manueline tradition of pilgrimage chapels (the chapel is the focus of annual celebrations on the feast day of Saint Sebastian, held on 20 January each year), recognizable for the painted vaulted retable;
 * Chapel of São Pedro das Cabeças (Ermida de São Pedro das Cabeça), 5 km from Geraldos, the 15th-century temple is a rural sanctuary, and devotional site for pilgrims: it is located on the plain that was part of the mythical Battle of Ourique, where Afonso Henriques triumphed over five Moorish Kings. The chapel is located at the high point along the plain, and was ordered constructed by King Sebastian, to pay homage to the first King of Portugal and his historical victory.

Notable citizens

 * Alfredo Luís da Costa (1883 in Casével – 1908) a publicist, editor, journalist, store clerk and salesman, one of the two assassins of King Carlos I of Portugal and Luis Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal during the 1908 Lisbon Regicide.
 * Rogério Contreiras (1922–1990) a former football goalkeeper with a three-year spell at Benfica
 * Frederico Rosa (1957–2019) a professional footballer with 397 club caps

title: Castro Verde


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Henry Yevele

Henry Yevele (c. 1320 – 1400) was an English mason. He was considered to be the most prolific and successful master mason active in late medieval England. The first document relating to him is dated 3 December 1353, when he purchased the freedom of London. In February 1356 he was sufficiently well known as a mason that he was chosen as one of a commission of six cutting masons who were to inform the mayor and aldermen about the acts and articles of the craft.

Career
His first connection with royal building works was probably when he was contracted from March 1357 to September 1359 to remodel the Black Prince's manor at Kennington, at the cost of £221 4s. 7d. On 23 June 1360, he was appointed "disposer" of the royal works at the Palace of Westminster and the Tower of London. For this he was paid 1s. per day, although he continued undertaking other, non-royal, commissions.

At the Palace of Westminster, Yevele was responsible for refacing Westminster Hall, and for two essentially utilitarian buildings, the Jewel Tower in the Privy Palace (1365–6) and the clock tower (now destroyed), which stood opposite the north door of Westminster Hall and regulated the sittings of the royal courts of justice there (1366–7).

At the Tower of London, Yevele was responsible for the Bloody Tower, while several minor works, including the vaulting of the thirteenth-century watergate, were performed by Henry's brother, Robert. The real focus of activity in the king's works at this time, however, was Windsor Castle. The master mason there, John Sponlee (d. 1382?), walked in the funeral procession of Queen Philippa in 1369 as an esquire of greater estate, whereas Yevele ranked only as a lesser esquire. During Edward III's reign Yevele's strictly architectural work for the crown was, with one minor exception, confined to London, but he supplied materials to numerous royal building sites in Kent and Surrey as well as in London.

The most significant of Yevele's remaining works are the naves of Westminster Abbey (1362) and Canterbury Cathedral (1377–1400), the latter completed in an early Perpendicular Gothic style.

Yevele advised on repairs and new works at the castles of Southampton (1378–9), Carisbrooke (1380–85), Winchester (1390–1400), and Portchester (1384–5), and on the town walls of Canterbury (1385–6), but it is uncertain to what extent this involved him in major design work. In 1381, 1389, and 1393 Yevele's advice was sought by William of Wykeham, bishop of Winchester, who had been clerk of works at Windsor Castle from 1356 to 1361. On 29 August 1390 Yevele was made exempt from jury and other forms of service on account of his official duties and "great age".

Yevele's work for other lay patrons belonged to the 1370s and 1380s. For John of Gaunt he carried out in 1375 unspecified works at the Savoy Palace in London and, together with another mason, Thomas Wrek, he contracted for the duke's large and very sumptuous canopied tomb in Old St Paul's Cathedral. For John de Cobham, 3rd Baron Cobham, he furnished the design ("devyse") for a new south aisle at the London parish church of St Dunstan-in-the-East, although he did not take charge of its building. From 1368 he served as one of the two wardens of London Bridge. Although the wardenships were purely administrative, it is highly likely that he was the designer of the two-storeyed apsidal chapel of St Thomas, which projected eastwards from the middle of the bridge and which was under construction between 1384 and 1397. The chapel possessed a "table" or handboard containing a summary history of the bridge, which was the source of the statement by the 16th-century antiquary John Leland that "a mason beinge master of the bridge howse", built the chapel at his own expense. This notice can refer only to Yevele, whose name presumably meant nothing to Leland.

Death
Yevele died in 1400 and was buried at the church of St Magnus the Martyr by London Bridge. His monument was extant in John Stow's time (the late 16th century), but was probably destroyed by the Great Fire of London.

Work
Works that can be attributed to Yevele with a reasonable level of certainty include:

 * Kennington Manor (part, 1358, destroyed)
 * Bloody Tower of the Tower of London (1361)
 * Abbot's House and College Hall, Westminster Abbey (1362)
 * Nave and west cloister, Westminster Abbey (1362)
 * Palace of Westminster clock tower (1365, destroyed)
 * Parts of old London Bridge (destroyed)
 * London Charterhouse (1371)
 * The high altar screen of Durham Cathedral (1372–80), shipped in boxes from London to Newcastle
 * Savoy Palace (part, 1376, destroyed)
 * West Gate, Canterbury (1378)
 * The east and south walks of the cloister of St Albans Abbey (probably begun c.1380) (not mentioned by Harvey)
 * The south transept façade of Old St Paul's Cathedral (1381–8) (not mentioned by Harvey)
 * Old St Dunstan-in-the-East (part, 1381, destroyed)
 * Rochester bridge (1383, destroyed)
 * Canterbury city walls (1385)
 * Nave and south cloister of Canterbury Cathedral (1377–1400)
 * Westminster Hall (1395)
 * The tombs of
 * Cardinal Simon Langham (d. 1376) in Westminster Abbey (1389)
 * Edward III in Westminster Abbey (after 1386)
 * Richard II in Westminster Abbey (1395)
 * Edward, the Black Prince in Canterbury Cathedral (1376)
 * Archbishop Simon Sudbury in Canterbury Cathedral (begun mid-1380s? Died 1381 but the tomb was created in a perpendicular style, according to the Canterbury Cathedral notes, circa 1391.)
 * John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster (1374–80; destroyed) in the choir of Old St Paul's Cathedral.

title: Henry Yevele


text:
The Initiative (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

"The Initiative" is the seventh episode of season 4 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Written by Doug Petrie and directed by James A. Contner, it originally aired on November 16, 1999 on the WB network.

In "The Initiative", Spike is imprisoned in an underground demon-research facility, and Riley Finn realizes he has a crush on Buffy.

Plot
Riley, and his friends Forrest and Graham, watch Buffy making a mess of the soda and yogurt machines. They comment on what a catch she is, and how interested they all are in her, although Riley is reluctant to make fun. Giles and Xander discover the commandoes are human and that their help will not be needed in researching. Buffy decides to go to a party with Willow to hopefully cheer her up, and Giles and Xander go on patrol for her.

Spike, having been knocked out by a Taser in the previous episode, awakes in a facility where various types of demons are held captive behind electrically charged barriers. A packet of blood drops from the ceiling into Spike's cell, but before he drinks it, a vampire in the next cell - Tom, captured in "The Freshman" - warns him that doctors starve the vampires and then feed them drugged blood before doing experiments on them.

In class, Willow asks about Oz, and Riley and Professor Walsh tell her that he dropped out of class and will not likely come back, saddening her. Buffy tells the professor off for her harsh behavior, prompting Walsh to comment to Riley that she likes her. Forrest asks Parker about Buffy, and when Parker vulgarly brags about having sex with her, Riley punches him, realizing that he likes Buffy. He visits Willow and asks her advice in wooing Buffy; Willow, still emotionally distressed, questions his motives, but eventually relents, listing some of Buffy's likes and interests.

Spike lies on the floor of his cell, pretending to have drunk the drugged blood, and when the doctors come to get him he attacks. He escapes the Initiative and returns to Harmony's lair to visit her, then immediately leaves to kill the Slayer. Xander later discovers Harmony crying, burning some of Spike's things. After a brief inept slap-fight, Harmony tells Xander that Spike is back.

At the party, Willow tries to help Riley flirt with Buffy, but his attempts are thwarted when Xander arrives to inform Buffy that Spike has returned. Riley is also called away; he and Forrest break away from the party and, after passing through several electronic checkpoints, go down a hidden elevator to the underground facility where Spike had been held. The operation's head, Walsh, informs them that Spike has escaped, and Riley gives orders to three teams that he sends out all over Sunnydale to find Spike. Riley's team then spots Buffy sitting on a bench, and Riley refuses to allow them to use her as bait. Each unaware of the other's secret identity, Riley and Buffy try to send each other out of harm's way.

Meanwhile, Spike has found Buffy's dorm through the school computer system. Willow, moping in her room, hears a knock on the door and invites the person in without thinking. Spike swaggers through the door and attempts to bite Willow, but is stopped by an intense pain in his head. After a short, calm dialogue with multiple metaphorical references to impotence, Willow hits him with a lamp and runs out just as Riley and friends cut the power and then work their way up to the dorm room. They capture Spike but, while they are considering whether to take Willow or not, Spike breaks free. Buffy arrives and fights Riley and his friends while Spike manages to escape through a window. Unable to make out the identity of their attacker, Riley orders them to retreat.

Walsh is not happy, either with what happened or with Riley's report on the event. It is revealed that Spike cannot harm a human without feeling pain in his head because of an implant they had placed there. Riley catches up with Buffy and they talk. Buffy tells him he is a little peculiar, a term used by Riley before he realized he liked Buffy, and he responds that he can "live with that".

Reception
Vox, ranking it at #116 of all 144 episodes, writes, "As plot-heavy season four episodes go, 'The Initiative' isn't too shabby. It has a kind of slapstick charm to it: There’s the newly escaped and bechipped Spike trying to bite Willow, only to suffer from some performance issues; there’s Xander and Harmony’s slow-motion slap fight."

Billie Doux, giving a rating of 4 out of 4 stakes, writes, "Episodes like this one are the reason I've become such a big fan of this show. We found out a lot more about the Commando Vampire Testing Lab and who is involved... and even though they're doing a lot of what Buffy does, i.e., saving the world from demons and monsters, there's something really off about the 'latest in fall fascism.'"