Frankfurt Essays - Districts Of Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Hesse-Nassau

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main, city in west central Germany, in Hessen, a port on the Main River. It is a major manufacturing, financial, commercial, and transportation center, served by rail lines and the Rhine-Main Airport, the most important in Germany. Manufactures include machinery, electrical equipment, chemicals (notably in the H?chst district), pharmaceuticals, motor vehicles, clothing, and printed materials. International trade fairs, including the world's largest annual book fair, are held in the city. Frankfurt is divided into an old town, or Altstadt, bordering the river, and a new town, or Neustadt, north of the older section. The old town, inhabited mainly by tradespeople and skilled artisans, retains many medieval characteristics. The new town contains the business quarter and the most important public buildings. A cluster of Gothic houses, the R?mer, was used as the town hall for nearly 500 years. It forms the nucleus of the R?merberg, a square flanked by medieval houses of various dates. Other places of interest are the Leinwandhaus, or linen drapers' hall, of the 14th century; the Eschenheimer Turm, a tower once part of the city's old fortifications; the palace of the princes of Thurn and Taxis, which was the meeting place of the diet of the German Confederation from 1816 to 1866; and the house (now a museum) where the German poet and writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe spent his youth. The diarist Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt. The outstanding church of Frankfurt is the Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew. It was constructed in the 13th century on the site of a 9th-century church and was the seat of the elections of emperors of the Holy Roman Empire and, after 1562, of the imperial coronations. Also notable are Saint Paul's Church (18th-19th century), where the Frankfurt Parliament, the first German national assembly, met from 1848 to 1849; Saint Leonard's Church (15th-16th century); and Saint Michael's Church (1953). Seven museums make up the Museum Embankment, a major construction project first planned in the late 1970s and completed only recently. The complex includes the Postal Museum and museums of applied arts, ethnography, cinema, architecture, sculpture, and European painting from the 14th century, as well as an art school and parks. Across the river but generally mentioned in conjunction with the embankment is the Jewish Museum. It was opened in 1988, on the 50th anniversary of Kristallnacht (German for ?Night of Broken Glass?), a night of anti-Jewish rioting instigated by the Nazi party, and is located in the palace of the House of Rothschild, the famous family of Jewish financiers. The museum depicts the history of Jews in Germany from the Middle Ages to the present and focuses on Frankfurt's Jewish ghetto. Also, the new Museum Judengasse (1992) displays preserved ruins of the Jewish ghetto as well. Another major museum in Frankfurt is the Senckenberg Museum, with a large collection on natural history, especially paleontology. The city also has a large zoo and a botanical garden and is the seat of a university (1914). Though the area was settled as early as the Stone Age, Frankfurt was probably established as a Roman settlement about the 1st century AD. In the late 8th century, it was referred to as Frankonovurd by Einhard, the biographer of Charlemagne. During Charlemagne's reign (800-814) a number of imperial councils were held in Frankfurt. The Golden Bull of 1356 established Frankfurt as the seat of the imperial elections, and it was made a free imperial city in 1372. About 1530 the city became an important stronghold of Protestantism. Upon the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine in 1806, Frankfurt became subordinate to the confederation. It regained the status of a free city in 1815, and it was the unofficial capital of the confederation until 1866. In the same year, during the Seven Weeks' War, Frankfurt was seized by Prussia. During World War II (1939-1945), the city was badly damaged by bombing, but it has since been rebuilt. In 1993 Frankfurt was chosen as the site of the European Monetary Institute, the European Union body that is the forerunner of the European Central Bank. Population (1997) 652,412. Bibliography: Encarta www.frankfurt.de

How the Qin Dynasty Unified Ancient China

How the Qin Dynasty Unified Ancient China The Qin dynasty surfaced during China’s Warring States period. This era spanned 250 years- 475 B.C. to 221 B.C. During the Warring States period, the city-state kingdoms of ancient China’s Spring and Autumn period consolidated into larger territories. The feudal states fought each other for power during this era characterized by advances in military technology as well as education, thanks to the influences of Confucian philosophers. The Qin dynasty came to prominence as the new imperial dynasty (221-206/207 B.C.) after conquering rival kingdoms and when its first emperor, the absolute monarch Qin Shi Huang (Shi Huangdi or Shih Huang-ti) unified China. The Qin Empire, also known as Chin, is likely where the name China originates. The Qin dynasty’s government was Legalist, a doctrine developed by Han Fei (d. 233 B.C.) [source: Chinese History (Mark Bender at Ohio State University)]. That held the power of the state and its monarchs interests paramount. This policy led to a strain on the treasury and, ultimately, the end of the Qin dynasty. The Qin Empire has been described as creating a police state with the government holding absolute power. Private weapons were confiscated. Nobles were transported to the capital. But the Qin Dynasty also ushered in new ideas and inventions. It standardized weights, measures, coinage- the bronze round coin with a square hole in the center- writing and chariot axle widths. Writing was standardized to permit bureaucrats throughout the land to read documents. It may have been during the Qin Dynasty or late Han Dynasty that the zoetrope was invented. Using conscripted farm labor, the Great Wall (868 km) was built to keep out northern invaders. Emperor Qin Shi Huang sought immortality through a variety of elixirs. Ironically, some of these elixirs may have contributed to his death in 210 B.C. Upon his death, the emperor had ruled for 37 years. His tomb, close to the city of Xi’an, included an army of more than 6,000 life-size terracotta soldiers (or servants) to protect (or serve) him. The first Chinese emperor’s tomb remained undiscovered for 2,000 after years his death. Farmers unearthed the soldiers as they dug a well near Xi’an in 1974. â€Å"So far, archaeologists have uncovered a 20-square-mile compound, including some 8,000 terracotta soldiers, along with numerous horses and chariots, a pyramid mound marking the emperor’s tomb, remains of a palace, offices, storehouses, and stables,† according to the History Channel. â€Å"In addition to the large pit containing the 6,000 soldiers, a second pit was found with cavalry and infantry units and a third containing high-ranking officers and chariots. A fourth pit remained empty, suggesting that the burial pit was left unfinished at the time the emperor died.† Qin Shi Huang’s son would replace him, but the Han Dynasty overthrew and replaced the new emperor in 206 B.C. Pronunciation of Qin Chin Also Known As Chin Examples The Qin dynasty is known for the terracotta army put in the emperor’s tomb to serve him in the afterlife. Sources: Minnesota State University Qin DynastySarah Milledge Nelson, Brian M. Fagan, Adam Kessler, Julie M. Segraves China The Oxford Companion to Archaeology. Brian M. Fagan, ed., Oxford University Press 1996.Cultural China: Kaleidoscope Science and InventionHistory Channel: The Terra Cotta Army