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Anal sex Anal sex or anal intercourse is generally the insertion and thrusting of the erect penis into a person's anus, or anus and rectum, for sexual pleasure. Other forms of anal sex include anal fingering, the use of sex toys, anilingus, and pegging. Although "anal sex" most commonly means penileanal penetration, sources sometimes use "anal intercourse" to exclusively denote penileanal penetration, and "anal sex" to denote any form of anal sexual activity, especially between pairings as opposed to anal masturbation. While anal sex is commonly associated with male homosexuality, research shows that not all homosexual men engage in anal sex and that it is not uncommon in heterosexual relationships. Types of anal sex can also be a part of lesbian sexual practices. People may experience pleasure from anal sex by stimulation of the anal nerve endings, and orgasm may be achieved through anal penetration – by indirect stimulation of the prostate in men, indirect stimulation of the clitoris or an area of the vagina (sometimes called "the G-spot") in women, and other sensory nerves (especially the pudendal nerve). However, people may also find anal sex painful, sometimes extremely so, which may be due to psychological factors in some cases.
As with most forms of sexual activity, anal sex can facilitate the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Anal sex is considered a high-risk sexual practice because of the vulnerability of the anus and rectum. The anal and rectal tissue are delicate and do not, unlike the vagina, provide lubrication. They can easily tear and permit disease transmission, especially if a personal lubricant is not used. Anal sex without protection of a condom is considered the riskiest form of sexual activity, and therefore health authorities such as the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend safe sex practices for anal sex. Strong views are often expressed about anal sex. It is controversial in various cultures, often because of religious prohibitions against anal sex among males or teachings about the procreative purpose of sexual activity. It may be considered taboo or unnatural, and is a criminal offense in some countries, punishable by corporal or capital punishment. By contrast, anal sex may also be considered a natural and valid form of sexual activity as fulfilling as other desired sexual expressions, and can be an enhancing or primary element of a person's sex life.
Anatomy and stimulation. The abundance of nerve endings in the anal region and rectum can make anal sex pleasurable for men and women. The internal and external sphincter muscles control the opening and closing of the anus; these muscles, which are sensitive membranes made up of many nerve endings, facilitate pleasure or pain during anal sex. "Human Sexuality: An Encyclopedia" states that "the inner third of the anal canal is less sensitive to touch than the outer two-thirds, but is more sensitive to pressure" and that "the rectum is a curved tube about long and has the capacity, like the anus, to expand". Research indicates that anal sex occurs significantly less frequently than other sexual behaviors, but its association with dominance and submission, as well as taboo, makes it an appealing stimulus to people of all sexual orientations. In addition to sexual penetration by the penis, people may use sex toys such as a dildo, a butt plug or anal beads, engage in anal fingering, anilingus, pegging, anal masturbation, figging or fisting for anal sexual activity, and different sex positions may also be included. Fisting is the least practiced of the activities, partly because it is uncommon that people can relax enough to accommodate an object as big as a fist being inserted into the anus.
In a male receptive partner, being anally penetrated can produce a pleasurable sensation due to the object of insertion rubbing or brushing against the prostate through the anal wall. This can result in pleasurable sensations and can lead to an orgasm in some cases. Prostate stimulation can produce a deeper orgasm, sometimes described by men as more widespread and intense, longer-lasting, and allowing for greater feelings of ecstasy than orgasm elicited by penile stimulation only. The prostate is located next to the rectum and is the larger, more developed male homologue (variation) to the female Skene's glands. It is also typical for a man to not reach orgasm as a receptive partner solely from anal sex. General statistics indicate that 70–80% of women require direct clitoral stimulation to achieve orgasm. The vaginal walls contain significantly fewer nerve endings than the clitoris (which has many nerve endings specifically intended for orgasm), and therefore intense sexual pleasure, including orgasm, from vaginal sexual stimulation is less likely to occur than from direct clitoral stimulation in the majority of women. The clitoris is composed of more than the externally visible glans (head). The vagina, for example, is flanked on each side by the clitoral crura, the internal legs of the clitoris, which are highly sensitive and become engorged with blood when sexually aroused. Indirect stimulation of the clitoris through anal penetration may be caused by the shared sensory nerves, especially the pudendal nerve, which gives off the inferior anal nerves and divides into the perineal nerve and the dorsal nerve of the clitoris. Although the anus has many nerve endings, their purpose is not specifically for inducing orgasm, and so a woman achieving orgasm solely by anal stimulation is rare.
Stimulation from anal sex can additionally be affected by popular perception or portrayals of the activity, such as erotica or pornography. In pornography, anal sex is commonly portrayed as a desirable, painless routine that does not require personal lubricant; this can result in couples performing anal sex without care, and men and women believing that it is unusual for women, as receptive partners, to find discomfort or pain instead of pleasure from the activity. By contrast, each person's sphincter muscles react to penetration differently, the anal sphincters have tissues that are more prone to tearing, and the anus and rectum, unlike the vagina, do not provide lubrication for sexual penetration. Researchers say adequate application of a personal lubricant, relaxation, and communication between sexual partners are crucial to avoid pain or damage to the anus or rectum. Additionally, ensuring that the anal area is clean and the bowel is empty, for both aesthetics and practicality, may be desired by participants.
Male to female. Behaviors and views. The anal sphincters are usually tighter than the pelvic muscles of the vagina, which can enhance the sexual pleasure for the inserting male during male-to-female anal intercourse because of the pressure applied to the penis. Men may also enjoy the penetrative role during anal sex because of its association with dominance, because it is made more alluring by a female partner or society in general insisting that it is forbidden, or because it presents an additional option for penetration. While some women find being a receptive partner during anal intercourse painful or uncomfortable, or only engage in the act to please a male sexual partner, other women find the activity pleasurable or prefer it to vaginal intercourse. In a 2010 clinical review article of heterosexual anal sex, "anal intercourse" is used to specifically denote penile-anal penetration, and "anal sex" is used to denote any form of anal sexual activity. The review suggests that anal sex is exotic among the sexual practices of some heterosexuals and that "for a certain number of heterosexuals, anal intercourse is pleasurable, exciting, and perhaps considered more intimate than vaginal sex".
Anal intercourse is sometimes used as a substitute for vaginal intercourse during menstruation. The likelihood of pregnancy occurring during anal sex is greatly reduced, as anal sex alone cannot lead to pregnancy unless sperm is somehow transported to the vaginal opening. Because of this, some couples practice anal intercourse as a form of contraception, often in the absence of a condom. Some couples may practice anal sex as a way of preserving female virginity because it is non-procreative and does not tear the hymen; this has been reported in Christian communities in the United States. A person, especially a teenage girl or woman, who engages in anal sex or other sexual activity with no history of having engaged in vaginal intercourse may be regarded as not having yet experienced virginity loss. This is sometimes called "technical virginity." Heterosexuals may view anal sex as "fooling around" or as foreplay; scholar Laura M. Carpenter stated that this view "dates to the late 1600s, with explicit 'rules' appearing around the turn of the twentieth century, as in marriage manuals defining petting as 'literally every caress known to married couples but does not include complete sexual intercourse.'" One study found US teens who pledged to not have sex until marriage were more likely to engage in anal sex without vaginal sex than teens who had not made a sexual abstinence pledge, and found pledge-takers were just as likely to test positive for an STI five years after taking the pledge as those who had not pledged to abstinence.
Prevalence. Because most research on anal intercourse addresses men who have sex with men, little data exists on the prevalence of anal intercourse among heterosexual couples. In Kimberly R. McBride's 2010 clinical review on heterosexual anal intercourse and other forms of anal sexual activity, it is suggested that changing norms may affect the frequency of heterosexual anal sex. McBride and her colleagues investigated the prevalence of non-intercourse anal sex behaviors among a sample of men (n=1,299) and women (n=1,919) compared to anal intercourse experience and found that 51% of men and 43% of women had participated in at least one act of oral–anal sex, manual–anal sex, or anal sex toy use. The report states the majority of men (n=631) and women (n=856) who reported heterosexual anal intercourse in the past 12 months were in exclusive, monogamous relationships: 69% and 73%, respectively. The review added that because "relatively little attention [is] given to anal intercourse and other anal sexual behaviors between heterosexual partners", this means that it is "quite rare" to have research "that specifically differentiates the anus as a sexual organ or addresses anal sexual function or dysfunction as legitimate topics. As a result, we do not know the extent to which anal intercourse differs qualitatively from coitus."
According to a 2010 study from the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior (NSSHB) that was authored by Debby Herbenick et al., although anal intercourse is reported by fewer women than other partnered sex behaviors, partnered women in the age groups between 18 and 49 are significantly more likely to report having anal sex in the past 90 days. Women engaged in anal intercourse less commonly than men. Vaginal intercourse was practiced more than insertive anal intercourse among men, but 13% to 15% of men aged 25 to 49 practiced insertive anal intercourse. With regard to adolescents, limited data also exists. This may be because of the taboo nature of anal sex and that teenagers and caregivers subsequently avoid talking to one another about the topic. It is also common for subject review panels and schools to avoid the subject. A 2000 study found that 22.9% of college students who self-identified as non-virgins had anal sex. They used condoms during anal sex 20.9% of the time as compared with 42.9% of the time with vaginal intercourse.
Anal sex being more common among heterosexuals today than it was previously has been linked to the increase in consumption of anal pornography among men, especially among those who view it on a regular basis. Seidman et al. argued that "cheap, accessible and, especially, interactive media have enabled many more people to produce as well as consume pornography", and that this modern way of producing pornography, in addition to the buttocks and anus having become more eroticized, has led to a significant interest in or obsession with anal sex among men. Male to male. Behaviors and views. Anal sex has been commonly associated with male homosexuality. However, not all homosexual men engage in anal sex. Oral sex and mutual masturbation are more common than anal stimulation among men in sexual relationships with other men. Among men who have anal sex with other men, the insertive partner may be referred to as the "top" and the one being penetrated may be referred to as the "bottom". Those who enjoy either role may be referred to as "versatile". Though some men who have sex with men may find that being a receptive partner during anal sex makes them question their masculinity, playing bottom in sexual intercourse is at least as common as playing top among western gay and bisexual men and, among committed male couples, anal intercourse is rated as providing the most satisfying orgasms.
Prevalence. Reports regarding the prevalence of anal sex among men who have sex with men vary. According to 2011 research from the Journal of Sexual Medicine, in the most recent sexual intercourse between homosexual men, the most common behavior was kissing the partner on the mouth, followed by oral sex, and mutual masturbation. Anal sex occurred in less than half of the sexual relationships between homosexual men. A survey publish by "The Advocate" in 1994 indicated that 46% of homosexual men who have anal sex, preferred to penetrate their partners, while 43% preferred to be the receptive partner. Other sources suggest that roughly three-fourths of homosexual men have had anal sex at least one time, with an equal percentage participating as tops and bottoms. In a 2012 sex survey conducted by the NSSHB in the U.S., among homosexual men who have anal sex, 83.3% report ever having anal sex in the insertive position, and 90% in the receptive position. According to Weiten et al., anal intercourse is more popular among homosexual male couples than among heterosexual couples, but "it ranks behind oral sex and mutual masturbation" among both sexual orientations in prevalence. Wellings et al. reported that "the equation of 'homosexual' with 'anal' sex among men is common among lay and health professionals alike" and that "yet an Internet survey of 180,000 MSM across Europe (EMIS, 2011) showed that oral sex was most commonly practised, followed by mutual masturbation, with anal intercourse in third place". Though anal sex is less common than oral sex and handjobs among committed male couples, they rate orgasms derived from anal intercourse as more satisfying than that of any other sexual practice.
Female to male. Women may sexually stimulate a man's anus by fingering the exterior or interior areas of the anus; they may also stimulate the perineum (which, for males, is between the base of the scrotum and the anus), massage the prostate or engage in anilingus. Sex toys, such as a dildo, may also be used. The practice of a woman penetrating a man's anus with a strap-on dildo for sexual activity is called pegging. Reece et al. reported in 2010 that receptive anal intercourse is infrequent among men overall, stating that "an estimated 7% of men 14 to 94 years old reported being a receptive partner during anal intercourse". "The BMJ" stated in 1999: Female to female. With regard to lesbian sexual practices, anal sex includes anal fingering, use of a dildo or other sex toys, or anilingus. There is less research on anal sexual activity among women who have sex with women compared to couples of other sexual orientations. In 1987, a non-scientific study (Munson) was conducted of more than 100 members of a lesbian social organization in Colorado. When asked what techniques they used in their last ten sexual encounters, lesbians in their 30s were twice as likely as other age groups to engage in anal stimulation (with a finger or dildo). A 2014 study of partnered lesbian women in Canada and the U.S. found that 7% engaged in anal stimulation or penetration at least once a week; about 10% did so monthly and 70% did not at all. Anilingus is also less often practiced among female same-sex couples.
Health risks. General risks. Anal sex can expose its participants to two principal dangers: infections due to the high number of infectious microorganisms not found elsewhere on the body, and physical damage to the anus and rectum due to their fragility. Unprotected penile-anal penetration, colloquially known as "barebacking", carries a higher risk of passing on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) because the anal sphincter is a delicate, easily torn tissue that can provide an entry for pathogens. Use of condoms, ample lubrication to reduce the risk of tearing, and safer sex practices in general, reduce the risk of STIs. However, a condom can break or otherwise come off during anal sex, and this is more likely to happen with anal sex than with other sex acts because of the tightness of the anal sphincters during friction. Unprotected receptive anal sex (with an HIV positive partner) is the sex act most likely to result in HIV transmission. As with other sexual practices, people without sound knowledge about the sexual risks involved are susceptible to STIs. Because of the view that anal sex is not "real sex" and therefore does not result in virginity loss, or pregnancy, teenagers and other young people who are unaware of the risks of the anal sex may consider vaginal intercourse riskier than anal intercourse and also they may believe that an STI can only result from vaginal intercourse. It may be because of these views that condom use with anal sex is often reported to be low and inconsistent across all groups in various countries.
Although anal sex alone does not lead to pregnancy, pregnancy can still occur with anal sex or other forms of sexual activity if the penis is near the vagina (such as during intercrural sex or other genital-genital rubbing) and its sperm is deposited near the vagina's entrance and travels along the vagina's lubricating fluids; the risk of pregnancy can also occur without the penis being near the vagina because sperm may be transported to the vaginal opening by the vagina coming in contact with fingers or other non-genital body parts that have come in contact with semen. There are a variety of factors that make male-to-female anal intercourse riskier than vaginal intercourse for women, including the risk of HIV transmission being higher for anal intercourse than for vaginal intercourse. The risk of injury to the woman during anal intercourse is also significantly higher than the risk of injury to her during vaginal intercourse because of the durability of the vaginal tissues compared to the anal tissues. Additionally, if a man moves from anal intercourse immediately to vaginal intercourse without a condom or without changing it, infections can arise in the vagina (or urinary tract) due to bacteria present within the anus; these infections can also result from switching between vaginal sex and anal sex by the use of fingers or sex toys.
Pain during receptive anal sex is formally known as "anodyspareunia." Factors predictive of pain during anal sex include inadequate lubrication, feeling tense or anxious, lack of stimulation, as well as lack of social ease with being gay and being closeted. Research has found that psychological factors can in fact be the primary contributors to the experience of pain during anal intercourse and that adequate communication between sexual partners can prevent it, countering the notion that pain is always inevitable during anal sex. The prevalence of anodyspareunia is difficult to measure; in two population studies of men receiving anal sex, 18% and 14% reported experiencing anodyspareunia. In a study of 2002 women, 8.7% of those who had engaged in anal sex reported experiencing severe pain. Damage. Anal sex can exacerbate hemorrhoids and therefore result in bleeding; in other cases, the formation of a hemorrhoid is attributed to anal sex. If bleeding occurs as a result of anal sex, it may also be because of a tear in the anal or rectal tissues (an anal fissure) or perforation (a hole) in the colon, the latter of which being a serious medical issue that should be remedied by immediate medical attention. Because of the rectum's lack of elasticity, the anal mucous membrane being thin, and small blood vessels being present directly beneath the mucous membrane, tiny tears and bleeding in the rectum usually result from penetrative anal sex, though the bleeding is usually minor and therefore usually not visible.
By contrast to other anal sexual behaviors, anal fisting poses a more serious danger of damage due to the deliberate stretching of the anal and rectal tissues; anal fisting injuries include anal sphincter lacerations and rectal and sigmoid colon (rectosigmoid) perforation, which might result in death. Repetitive penetrative anal sex may result in the anal sphincters becoming weakened, which may cause rectal prolapse or affect the ability to hold in feces (a condition known as fecal incontinence). Rectal prolapse is very uncommon, and its causes are not well understood. Kegel exercises have been used to strengthen the anal sphincters and overall pelvic floor, and may help prevent or remedy fecal incontinence. Cancer. Most cases of anal cancer are related to infection with the human papilloma virus (HPV). The risk of anal cancer through anal sex is attributed to HPV infection, which is often contracted through unprotected anal sex. Anal cancer is significantly less common than cancer of the colon or rectum (colorectal cancer); the American Cancer Society estimates that in 2023 there were approximately 9,760 new cases (6,580 in women and 3,180 in men) and approximately 1,870 deaths (860 women and 1,010 men) in the United States, and that, though anal cancer has been on the rise for many years, it is mainly diagnosed in adults, "with an average age being in the early 60s" and it "affects women somewhat more often than men."
Cultural views. General. Different cultures have had different views on anal sex throughout human history, with some cultures more positive about the activity than others. Historically, anal sex has been restricted or condemned, especially with regard to religious beliefs; it has also commonly been used as a form of domination, usually with the active partner (the one who is penetrating) representing masculinity and the passive partner (the one who is being penetrated) representing femininity. A number of cultures have especially recorded the practice of anal sex between males, and anal sex between males has been especially stigmatized or punished. In some societies, if discovered to have engaged in the practice, the individuals involved were put to death, such as by decapitation, burning, or even mutilation. Anal sex has been more accepted in modern times; it is often considered a natural, pleasurable form of sexual expression. The buttocks and anus have become more eroticized in modern culture, including via pornography. Engaging in anal sex is still, however, punished in some societies. For example, regarding LGBT rights in Iran, Iran's Penal Code states in Article 109 that "both men involved in same-sex penetrative (anal) or non-penetrative sex will be punished" and "Article 110 states that those convicted of engaging in anal sex will be executed and that the manner of execution is at the discretion of the judge".
Ancient and non-Western cultures. From the earliest records, the ancient Sumerians had very relaxed attitudes toward sex and did not regard anal sex as taboo. priestesses were forbidden from producing offspring and frequently engaged in anal sex as a method of birth control. Anal sex is also obliquely alluded to by a description of an omen in which a man "keeps saying to his wife: 'Bring your backside. Other Sumerian texts refer to homosexual anal intercourse. The , a set of priests who worked in the temples of the goddess Inanna, where they performed elegies and lamentations, were especially known for their homosexual proclivities. The Sumerian sign for was a ligature of the signs for 'penis' and 'anus'. One Sumerian proverb reads: "When the wiped off his ass [he said], 'I must not arouse that which belongs to my mistress [i.e., Inanna].'"
In later Roman-era Greek poetry, anal sex became a common literary convention, represented as taking place with "eligible" youths: those who had attained the proper age but had not yet become adults. Seducing those not of proper age (for example, non-adolescent children) into the practice was considered very shameful for the adult, and having such relations with a male who was no longer adolescent was considered more shameful for the young male than for the one mounting him. Greek courtesans, or hetaerae, are said to have frequently practiced male-female anal intercourse as a means of preventing pregnancy. A male citizen taking the passive (or receptive) role in anal intercourse ( in Latin) was condemned in Rome as an act of ('immodesty' or 'unchastity'); free men, however, could take the active role with a young male slave, known as a or . The latter was allowed because anal intercourse was considered equivalent to vaginal intercourse in this way; men were said to "take it like a woman" ( 'to undergo womanly things') when they were anally penetrated, but when a man performed anal sex on a woman, she was thought of as playing the boy's role. Likewise, women were believed to only be capable of anal sex or other sex acts with women if they possessed an exceptionally large clitoris or a dildo. The passive partner in any of these cases was always considered a woman or a boy because being the one who penetrates was characterized as the only appropriate way for an adult male citizen to engage in sexual activity, and he was therefore considered unmanly if he was the one who was penetrated; slaves could be considered "non-citizen". Although Roman men often availed themselves of their own slaves or others for anal intercourse, Roman comedies and plays presented Greek settings and characters for explicit acts of anal intercourse, and this may be indicative that the Romans thought of anal sex as something specifically "Greek".
In Japan, records (including detailed shunga) show that some males engaged in penetrative anal intercourse with males. Evidence suggestive of widespread male-female anal intercourse in a pre-modern culture can be found in the erotic vases, or stirrup-spout pots, made by the Moche people of Peru; in a survey, of a collection of these pots, it was found that 31 percent of them depicted male-female anal intercourse significantly more than any other sex act. Moche pottery of this type belonged to the world of the dead, which was believed to be a reversal of life. Therefore, the reverse of common practices was often portrayed. The Larco Museum houses an erotic gallery in which this pottery is showcased. Religion. Judaism. The "Mishneh Torah", a text considered authoritative by Orthodox Jewish sects, states "since a man's wife is permitted to him, he may act with her in any manner whatsoever. He may have intercourse with her whenever he so desires and kiss any organ of her body he wishes, and he may have intercourse with her naturally or unnaturally [traditionally, "unnaturally" refers to anal and oral sex], provided that he does not expend semen to no purpose. Nevertheless, it is an attribute of piety that a man should not act in this matter with levity and that he should sanctify himself at the time of intercourse."
Christianity. Christian texts may sometimes euphemistically refer to anal sex as the ('the sin against nature', after Thomas Aquinas) or ('sodomitical lusts', in one of Charlemagne's ordinances), or ('that horrible sin that among Christians is not to be named'). Islam. , or the sin of Lot's people, which has come to be interpreted as referring generally to same-sex sexual activity, is commonly officially prohibited by Islamic sects; there are parts of the Quran which talk about smiting on Sodom and Gomorrah, and this is thought to be a reference to "unnatural" sex, and so there are hadith and Islamic laws which prohibit it. Same-sex male practitioners of anal sex are called "luti" or "lutiyin" in plural and are seen as criminals in the same way that a thief is a criminal. Other animals. As a form of non-reproductive sexual behavior in animals, anal sex has been observed in a few other primates, both in captivity and in the wild.
Aarau Aarau (, ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the northern Swiss canton of Aargau. The town is also the capital of the district of Aarau. It is German-speaking and predominantly Protestant. Aarau is situated on the Swiss plateau, in the valley of the Aare, on the river's right bank, and at the southern foot of the Jura Mountains, and is west of Zürich, south of Basel and northeast of Bern. The municipality borders directly on the canton of Solothurn to the west. It is the largest town in Aargau. At the beginning of 2010 Rohr became a district of Aarau. The official language of Aarau is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect. Geography and geology. The old city of Aarau is situated on a rocky outcrop at a narrowing of the Aare river valley, at the southern foot of the Jura mountains. Newer districts of the city lie to the south and east of the outcrop, as well as higher up the mountain, and in the valley on both sides of the Aare. The neighboring municipalities are Küttigen to the north and Buchs to the east, Suhr to the south-east, Unterentfelden to the south, and Eppenberg-Wöschnau and Erlinsbach to the west. Aarau and the nearby neighboring municipalities have grown together and now form an interconnected agglomeration. The only exception is Unterentfelden whose settlements are divided from Aarau by the extensive forests of Gönhard and Zelgli. Approximately nine-tenths of the city is south of the Aare, and one tenth is to the north. It has an area, , of . Of this area, 6.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 34% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 55.2% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (4.5%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes). The lowest elevation, , is found at the banks of the Aar, and the highest elevation, at , is the Hungerberg on the border with Küttigen.
History. Prehistory. A few artifacts from the Neolithic period were found in Aarau. Near the location of the present train station, the ruins of a settlement from the Bronze Age (about 1000 BC) have been excavated. The Roman road between Salodurum (Solothurn) and Vindonissa passed through the area, along the route now covered by the Bahnhofstrasse. In 1976 divers in the Aare found part of a seven-meter wide wooden bridge from the late Roman times. Middle Ages. Aarau was founded around AD 1240 by the counts of Kyburg. Aarau is first mentioned in 1248 as "Arowe". Around 1250 it was mentioned as "Arowa". However the first mention of a city sized settlement was in 1256. The town was ruled from the "Rore" tower, which has been incorporated into the modern city hall. In 1273 the counts of Kyburg died out. Agnes of Kyburg, who had no male relations, sold the family's lands to King Rudolf I von Habsburg. He granted Aarau its city rights in 1283. In the 14th century the city was expanded in two stages, and a second defensive wall was constructed. A deep ditch separated the city from its "suburb;" its location is today marked by a wide street named "Graben" (meaning Ditch).
In 1415 Bern invaded lower Aargau with the help of Solothurn. Aarau capitulated after a short resistance, and was forced to swear allegiance to the new rulers. In the 16th century, the rights of the lower classes were abolished. In March 1528 the citizens of Aarau allowed the introduction of Protestantism at the urging of the Bernese. A growth in population during the 16th Century led to taller buildings and denser construction methods. Early forms of industry developed at this time; however, unlike in other cities, no guilds were formed in Aarau. On 11 August 1712, the Peace of Aarau was signed into effect. This granted each canton the right to choose their own religion thereby ending Catholicism's control. Starting in the early 18th century, the textile industry was established in Aarau. German immigration contributed to the city's favorable conditions, in that they introduced the cotton and silk factories. These highly educated immigrants were also responsible for educational reform and the enlightened, revolutionary spirit that developed in Aarau. 1798: Capital of the Helvetic Republic.
On 27 December 1797, the last Tagsatzung of the Old Swiss Confederacy was held in Aarau. Two weeks later a French envoy continued to foment the revolutionary opinions of the city. The contrast between a high level of education and a low level of political rights was particularly great in Aarau, and the city refused to send troops to defend the Bernese border. By Mid-March 1798 Aarau was occupied by French troops. On 22 March 1798 Aarau was declared the capital of the Helvetic Republic. It is therefore the first capital of a unified Switzerland. Parliament met in the city hall. On 20 September, the capital was moved to Lucerne. Aarau as canton capital. In 1803, Napoleon ordered the fusion of the cantons of Aargau, Baden and Fricktal. Aarau was declared the capital of the new, enlarged canton of Aargau. In 1820 the city wall was torn down, with the exception of the individual towers and gates, and the defensive ditches were filled in. The wooden bridge, dating from the Middle Ages, across the Aare was destroyed by floods three times in thirty years, and was replaced with a steel suspension bridge in 1851. This was replaced by a concrete bridge in 1952. The city was linked up to the Swiss Central Railway in 1856.
The textile industry in Aarau broke down in about 1850 because of the protectionist tariff policies of neighboring states. Other industries had developed by that time to replace it, including the production of mathematical instruments, shoes and cement. Beginning in 1900, numerous electrical enterprises developed. By the 1960s, more citizens worked in service industries or for the canton-level government than in manufacturing. During the 1980s many of the industries left Aarau completely. In 1802 the Canton School was established; it was the first non-parochial high school in Switzerland. It developed a good reputation, and was home to Nobel Prize winners Albert Einstein, Paul Karrer, and Werner Arber, as well as several Swiss politicians and authors. The purchase of a manuscript collection in 1803 laid the foundation for what would become the Cantonal Library, which contains a Bible annotated by Huldrych Zwingli, along with the manuscripts and incunabula. More newspapers developed in the city, maintaining the revolutionary atmosphere of Aarau. Beginning in 1820, Aarau has been a refuge for political refugees.
The urban educational and cultural opportunities of Aarau were extended through numerous new institutions. A Theatre and Concert Hall was constructed in 1883, which was renovated and expanded in 1995–96. The Aargau Nature Museum opened in 1922. A former cloth warehouse was converted into a small theatre in 1974, and the alternative culture center KIFF (Culture in the fodder factory) was established in a former animal fodder factory. Origin of the name. The earliest use of the place name was in 1248 (in the form Arowe), and probably referred to the settlement in the area before the founding of the city. It comes, along with the name of the River Aare (which was called Arula, Arola, and Araris in early times), from the German word "Au", meaning floodplain. Old town. The historic old town forms an irregular square, consisting of four parts (called "Stöcke"). To the south lies the Laurenzenvorstadt, that is, the part of the town formerly outside the city wall. One characteristic of the city is its painted gables, for which Aarau is sometimes called the "City of beautiful Gables". The old town, Laurenzenvorstadt, government building, cantonal library, state archive and art museum are all listed as heritage sites of national significance.
The buildings in the old city originate, on the whole, from building projects during the 16th century, when nearly all the Middle Age period buildings were replaced or expanded. The architectural development of the city ended in the 18th century, when the city began to expand beyond its (still existing) wall. Most of the buildings in the "suburb" date from this time. The "Schlössli" (small Castle), Rore Tower and the upper gate tower have remained nearly unchanged since the 13th century. The "Schlössli" is the oldest building in the city. It was already founded at the time of the establishment of the city shortly after 1200; the exact date is not known. City hall was built around Rore Tower in 1515. The upper gate tower stands beside the southern gate in the city wall, along the road to Lucerne and Bern. The jail has been housed in it since the Middle Ages. A Carillon was installed in the tower in the middle of the 20th century, the bells for which were provided by the centuries-old bell manufacturers of Aarau.
The town church was built between 1471 and 1478. During the Reformation, in 1528, its twelve altars and accompanying pictures were destroyed. The "Justice fountain" (Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen) was built in 1634, and is made of French limestone; it includes a statue of Lady Justice made of sandstone, hence the name. It was originally in the street in front of city hall, but was moved to its present location in front of the town church in 1905 due to increased traffic. Economy. , Aarau had an unemployment rate of 2.35%. , there were 48 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 9 businesses involved in this sector. 4,181 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 164 businesses in this sector. 20,186 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 1,461 businesses in this sector. This is a total of over 24,000 jobs, since Aarau's population is about 16,000 it draws workers from many surrounding communities. there were 8,050 total workers who lived in the municipality. Of these, 4,308 or about 53.5% of the residents worked outside Aarau while 17,419 people commuted into the municipality for work. There were a total of 21,161 jobs (of at least 6 hours per week) in the municipality.
The largest employer in Aarau is the cantonal government, the offices of which are distributed across the entire city at numerous locations. One of the two head offices of the "Aargauer Zeitung", Switzerland's fifth largest newspaper, is located in Aarau, as are the Tele M1 television channel studios, and several radio stations. Kern & Co., founded in 1819, was an internationally known geodetic instrument manufacturer based in Aarau. However, it was taken over by Wild Leitz in 1988, and was closed in 1991. The small scale of Aarau causes it to continually expand the borders of its growth. The urban center lies in the middle of the "Golden Triangle" between Zürich, Bern, and Basel, and Aarau is having increasing difficulty in maintaining the independence of its economic base from the neighboring large cities. The idea of merging Aarau with its neighboring suburbs has been recently discussed in the hope of arresting the slowly progressing losses. Manufacture include bells, mathematical instruments, electrical goods, cotton textiles, cutlery, chemicals, shoes, and other products. Aarau is famous for the quality of their instruments, cutlery and their bells.
Markets and fairs. Every Saturday morning there is a vegetable market in the "Graben" at the edge of the Old City. It is supplied with regional products. In the last week of September the MAG (Market of Aarauer Tradesmen) takes place there, with regional companies selling their products. The "Rüeblimärt" is held in the same place on the first Wednesday in November, which is a Carrot fair. The Aarau fair is held at the ice skating rink during the Spring. Transport. Aarau railway station is a terminus of the S-Bahn Zürich on the line S11. The town is also served with public transport provided by Busbetrieb Aarau AG. Population. The population of Aarau grew continuously from 1800 until about 1960, when the city reached a peak population of 17,045, more than five times its population in 1800. However, since 1960 the population has fallen by 8%. There are three reasons for this population loss: firstly, since the completion of Telli (a large apartment complex), the city has not had any more considerable land developments. Secondly, the number of people per household has fallen; thus, the existing dwellings do not hold as many people. Thirdly, population growth was absorbed by neighboring municipalities in the regional urban area, and numerous citizens of Aarau moved into the countryside. This trend might have stopped since the turn of the 21st century. Existing industrial developments are being used for new purposes instead of standing empty.
Aarau has a population (as of ) of . , 19.8% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 1%. Most of the population () speaks German (84.5%), with Italian being second most common ( 3.3%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 2.9%). The age distribution, , in Aarau is; 1,296 children or 8.1% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 1,334 teenagers or 8.4% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 2,520 people or 15.8% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 2,518 people or 15.8% are between 30 and 39, 2,320 people or 14.6% are between 40 and 49, and 1,987 people or 12.5% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 1,588 people or 10.0% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 1,219 people or 7.7% are between 70 and 79, there are 942 people or 5.9% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 180 people or 1.1% who are 90 and older. , there were 1,365 homes with 1 or 2 persons in the household, 3,845 homes with 3 or 4 persons in the household, and 2,119 homes with 5 or more persons in the household. The average number of people per household was 1.99 individuals. there were 1,594 single family homes (or 18.4% of the total) out of a total of 8,661 homes and apartments.
In Aarau about 74.2% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a ). Of the school age population (), there are 861 students attending primary school, there are 280 students attending secondary school, there are 455 students attending tertiary or university level schooling, there are 35 students who are seeking a job after school in the municipality. Sport. The football club FC Aarau play in the Stadion Brügglifeld. From 1981 until 2010 they played in the top tier of the Swiss football league system when they were relegated to the Swiss Challenge League. In the 2013/2014 they climbed back to the highest tier only to be relegated again. In the 2016/17 season they will play in the Swiss Challenge League. They won the Swiss Cup in 1985 and were three times Swiss football champions, in 1912, in 1914 and in 1993. The Argovia Stars play in the MySports League, the third highest league of Swiss ice hockey. They play their home games in the 3,000-seat KeBa Aarau Arena.
BC Alte Kanti Aarau plays in the Swiss Women's Basketball Championship, the country's top division. Sites. Heritage sites of national significance. Aarau is home to a number of sites that are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance. The list includes three churches; the Christian Catholic parish house, the Roman Catholic parish house, and the Reformed "City Church". There are five government buildings on the list; the Cantonal Library, which contains many pieces important to the nation's history, and Art Gallery, the old Cantonal School, the Legislature, the Cantonal Administration building, and the archives. Three gardens or parks are on the list; "Garten Schmidlin", "Naturama Aargau" and the "Schlossgarten". The remaining four buildings on the list are; the former Rickenbach Factory, the Crematorium, the "Haus zum Erker" at Rathausgasse 10 and the "Restaurant Zunftstube" at Pelzgasse. Tourist sites. The Bally Shoe company has a unique shoe museum in the city. There is also the Trade Museum which contain stained glass windows from Muri Convent and paintings.
Annual events. Each May, Aarau plays host to the annual Jazzaar Festival attracting the world's top jazz musicians. Religion. From the , 4,473 or 28.9% are Roman Catholic, while 6,738 or 43.6% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there are 51 individuals (or about 0.33% of the population) who belong to the Christian Catholic i.e. Old Catholic faith. Government. Legislative. In place of a town meeting, a town assembly ("Einwohnerrat") of 50 members is elected by the citizens, and follows the policy of proportional representation. It is responsible for approving tax levels, preparing the annual account, and the business report. In addition, it can issue regulations. The term of office is four years. In the last two elections the parties had the following representation: At the district level, some elements of the government remain a direct democracy. There are optional and obligatory referendums, and the population retains the right to establish an initiative. Executive. The executive authority is the town council ("Stadtrat"). The term of office is four years, and its members are elected by a plurality voting system. It leads and represents the municipality. It carries out the resolutions of the assembly, and those requested by the canton and national level governments.
The seven members (and their party) are: National elections. In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SP which received 27.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (22.1%), the FDP (17.5%) and the Green Party (11.8%). Coat of arms. The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is "Argent an Eagle displayed Sable beaked langued and membered Gules and a Chief of the last." International relations. Twin towns – sister cities. Aarau is twinned with:
Aargau Aargau ( ; ), more formally the Canton of Aargau (; ; ; ), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capital is Aarau. Aargau is one of the most northerly cantons of Switzerland, by the lower course of the Aare River, which is why it is called "Aar-gau" ("Aare province"). It is one of the most densely populated regions of Switzerland. History. Early history. The area of Aargau and the surrounding areas were controlled by the Helvetians, a tribe of Celts, as far back as 200 BC. It was eventually occupied by the Romans and then by the 6th century, the Franks. The Romans built a major settlement called Vindonissa, near the present location of Brugg. Medieval Aargau. The reconstructed Old High German name of Aargau is "Argowe", first unambiguously attested (in the spelling "Argue") in 795. The term described a territory only loosely equivalent to that of the modern canton, including the region between Aare and Reuss rivers, including Pilatus and Napf, i.e. including parts of the modern cantons of Bern (Bernese Aargau, Emmental, parts of the Bernese Oberland), Solothurn, Basel-Landschaft, Lucerne, Obwalden and Nidwalden, but not the parts of the modern canton east of the Reuss (Baden District), which were part of Zürichgau.
Within the Frankish Empire (8th to 10th centuries), the area was a disputed border region between the duchies of Alamannia and Burgundy. A line of the von Wetterau (Conradines) intermittently held the countship of Aargau from 750 until about 1030, when they lost it (having in the meantime taken the name von Tegerfelden). This division became the ill-defined (and sparsely settled) outer border of the early Holy Roman Empire at its formation in the second half of the 10th century. Most of the region came under the control of the ducal house of Zähringen and the comital houses of Habsburg and Kyburg by about 1200. In the second half of the 13th century, the territory became divided between the territories claimed by the imperial cities of Bern, Lucerne and Solothurn and the Swiss canton of Unterwalden. The remaining portion, largely corresponding to the modern canton of Aargau, remained under the control of the Habsburgs until the "conquest of Aargau" by the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1415. Habsburg Castle itself, the original seat of the House of Habsburg, was taken by Bern in April 1415. The Habsburgs had founded a number of monasteries (with some structures enduring, e.g., in Wettingen and Muri), the closing of which by the government in 1841 was a contributing factor to the outbreak of the Swiss civil war – the "Sonderbund War" – in 1847.
Under the Swiss Confederation. When Frederick IV of Habsburg sided with Antipope John XXIII at the Council of Constance, Emperor Sigismund placed him under the Imperial ban. In July 1414, the Pope visited Bern and received assurances from them, that they would move against the Habsburgs. A few months later the Swiss Confederation denounced the Treaty of 1412. Shortly thereafter in 1415, Bern and the rest of the Swiss Confederation used the ban as a pretext to invade the Aargau. The Confederation was able to quickly conquer the towns of Aarau, Lenzburg, Brugg and Zofingen along with most of the Habsburg castles. Bern kept the southwest portion (Zofingen, Aarburg, Aarau, Lenzburg, and Brugg), northward to the confluence of the Aare and Reuss. The important city of Baden was taken by a united Swiss army and governed by all 8 members of the Confederation. Some districts, named the "Freie Ämter" ("free bailiwicks") – Mellingen, Muri, Villmergen, and Bremgarten, with the countship of Baden – were governed as "subject lands" by all or some of the Confederates. Shortly after the conquest of the Aargau by the Swiss, Frederick humbled himself to the Pope. The Pope reconciled with him and ordered all of the taken lands to be returned. The Swiss refused and years later after no serious attempts at re-acquisition, the Duke officially relinquished rights to the Swiss.
Unteraargau or Berner Aargau. Bern's portion of the Aargau came to be known as the Unteraargau, though can also be called the Berner or Bernese Aargau. In 1514 Bern expanded north into the Jura and so came into possession of several strategically important mountain passes into the Austrian Fricktal. This land was added to the Unteraargau and was directly ruled from Bern. It was divided into seven rural bailiwicks and four administrative cities, Aarau, Zofingen, Lenzburg and Brugg. While the Habsburgs were driven out, many of their minor nobles were allowed to keep their lands and offices, though over time they lost power to the Bernese government. The bailiwick administration was based on a very small staff of officials, mostly made up of Bernese citizens, but with a few locals. When Bern converted during the Protestant Reformation in 1528, the Unteraargau also converted. At the beginning of the 16th century a number of anabaptists migrated into the upper Wynen and Rueder valleys from Zürich. Despite pressure from the Bernese authorities in the 16th and 17th centuries anabaptism never entirely disappeared from the Unteraargau.
Bern used the Aargau bailiwicks mostly as a source of grain for the rest of the city-state. The administrative cities remained economically only of regional importance. However, in the 17th and 18th centuries Bern encouraged industrial development in Unteraargau and by the late 18th century it was the most industrialized region in the city-state. The high industrialization led to high population growth in the 18th century, for example between 1764 and 1798, the population grew by 35%, far more than in other parts of the canton. In 1870 the proportion of farmers in Aarau, Lenzburg, Kulm, and Zofingen districts was 34–40%, while in the other districts it was 46–57%. Freie Ämter. The rest of the Freie Ämter were collectively administered as subject territories by the rest of the Confederation. Muri "Amt" was assigned to Zürich, Lucerne, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Zug and Glarus, while the "Ämter" of Meienberg, Richensee and Villmergen were first given to Lucerne alone. The final boundary was set in 1425 by an arbitration tribunal and Lucerne had to give the three "Ämter" to be collectively ruled. The four "Ämter" were then consolidated under a single Confederation bailiff into what was known in the 15th century as the "Waggental" Bailiwick (). In the 16th century, it came to be known as the "Vogtei der Freien Ämter". While the "Freien Ämter" often had independent lower courts, they were forced to accept the Confederation's sovereignty. Finally, in 1532, the canton of Uri became part of the collective administration of the Freien Ämter.
At the time of the Protestant Reformation, the majority of the Ämter converted to the new faith. In 1529, a wave of iconoclasm swept through the area and wiped away much of the old religion. After the defeat of Zürich in the second Battle of Kappel in 1531, the victorious five Catholic cantons marched their troops into the Freie Ämter and reconverted them to Catholicism. In the First War of Villmergen, in 1656, and the Toggenburg War (or Second War of Villmergen), in 1712, the Freie Ämter became the staging ground for the warring Reformed and Catholic armies. While the peace after the 1656 war did not change the status quo, the fourth Peace of Aarau in 1712 brought about a reorganization of power relations. The victory gave Zürich the opportunity to force the Catholic cantons out of the government in the county of Baden and the adjacent area of the Freie Ämter. The Freie Ämter were then divided in two by a line drawn from the gallows in Fahrwangen to the Oberlunkhofen church steeple. The northern part, the so-called Unteren Freie Ämter (lower Freie Ämter), which included the districts of Boswil (in part) and Hermetschwil and the Niederamt, were ruled by Zürich, Bern and Glarus. The southern part, the Oberen Freie Ämter (upper Freie Ämter), were ruled by the previous seven cantons but Bern was added to make an eighth.
During the Helvetic Republic (1798–1803), the county of Baden, the Freie Ämter and the area known as the Kelleramt were combined into the canton of Baden. County of Baden. The County of Baden was a shared condominium of the entire Old Swiss Confederacy. After the Confederacy conquest in 1415, they retained much of the Habsburg legal structure, which caused a number of problems. The local nobility had the right to hold the low court in only about one fifth of the territory. There were over 30 different nobles who had the right to hold courts scattered around the surrounding lands. All these overlapping jurisdictions caused numerous conflicts, but gradually the Confederation was able to acquire these rights in the county. The cities of Baden, Bremgarten and Mellingen became the administrative centers and held the high courts. Together with the courts, the three administrative centers had considerable local autonomy, but were ruled by a governor who was appointed by the "Acht Orte" every two years. After the Protestant victory at the Second Battle of Villmergen, the administration of the County changed slightly. Instead of the "Acht Orte" appointing a bailiff together, Zürich and Bern each appointed the governor for 7 out of 16 years while Glarus appointed him for the remaining two years.
The chaotic legal structure and fragmented land ownership combined with a tradition of dividing the land among all the heirs in an inheritance prevented any large scale reforms. The governor tried in the 18th century to reform and standardize laws and ownership across the county, but with limited success. With an ever-changing administration, the County lacked a coherent long-term economic policy or support for reforms. By the end of the 18th century there were no factories or mills and only a few small cottage industries along the border with Zürich. Road construction first became a priority after 1750, when Zürich and Bern began appointing a governor for seven years. During the Protestant Reformation, some of the municipalities converted to the new faith. However, starting in 1531, some of the old parishes were converted back to the old faith. The governors were appointed from both Catholic and Protestant cantons and since they changed every two years, neither faith gained a majority in the county. After the French invasion, on 19 March 1798, the governments of Zürich and Bern agreed to the creation of the short lived canton of Baden in the Helvetic Republic. With the Act of Mediation in 1803, the canton of Baden was dissolved. Portions of the lands of the former County of Baden now became the District of Baden in the newly created canton of Aargau. After World War II, this formerly agrarian region saw striking growth and became the district with the largest and densest population in the canton (110,000 in 1990, 715 persons per km2).
Forming the canton of Aargau. The contemporary canton of Aargau was formed in 1803, a canton of the Swiss Confederation as a result of the Act of Mediation. It was a combination of three short-lived cantons of the Helvetic Republic: Aargau (1798–1803), Baden (1798–1803) and Fricktal (1802–1803). Its creation is therefore rooted in the Napoleonic era. In the year 2003, the canton of Aargau celebrated its 200th anniversary. French forces occupied the Aargau from 10 March to 18 April 1798; thereafter the Bernese portion became the canton of Aargau and the remainder formed the canton of Baden. Aborted plans to merge the two halves came in 1801 and 1802, and they were eventually united under the name Aargau, which was then admitted as a full member of the reconstituted Confederation following the Act of Mediation. Some parts of the canton of Baden at this point were transferred to other cantons: the "Amt" of Hitzkirch to Lucerne, whilst Hüttikon, Oetwil an der Limmat, Dietikon and Schlieren went to Zürich. In return, Lucerne's "Amt" of Merenschwand was transferred to Aargau (district of Muri).
The Fricktal, ceded in 1802 by Austria via Napoleonic France to the Helvetic Republic, was briefly a separate canton of the Helvetic Republic (the canton of Fricktal) under a "Statthalter" ('Lieutenant'), but on 19 March 1803 (following the Act of Mediation) was incorporated into the canton of Aargau. The former cantons of Baden and Fricktal can still be identified with the contemporary districts – the canton of Baden is covered by the districts of Zurzach, Baden, Bremgarten, and Muri (albeit with the gains and losses of 1803 detailed above); the canton of Fricktal by the districts of Rheinfelden and Laufenburg (except for Hottwil which was transferred to that district in 2010). Chief magistracy. The chief magistracy of Aargau changed its style repeatedly: Jewish history in Aargau. In the 17th century, Aargau was the only federal condominium where Jews were tolerated. In 1774, they were restricted to just two towns, Endingen and Lengnau. While the rural upper class pressed incessantly for the expulsion the Jews, the financial interests of the authorities prevented it. They imposed special taxes on peddling and cattle trading, the primary Jewish professions. The Protestant occupiers also enjoyed the discomfort of the local Catholics by the presence of the Jewish community. The Jews were directly subordinate to the governor; from 1696, they were compelled to renew a letter of protection from him every 16 years.
During this period, Jews and Christians were not allowed to live under the same roof, neither were Jews allowed to own land or houses. They were taxed at a much higher rate than others and, in 1712, the Lengnau community was "pillaged." In 1760, they were further restricted regarding marriages and procreation. An exorbitant tax was levied on marriage licenses; oftentimes, they were outright refused. This remained the case until the 19th century. In 1799, the Helvetic republic abolished all special tolls, and, in 1802, removed the poll tax. On 5 May 1809, they were declared citizens and given broad rights regarding trade and farming. They were still restricted to Endingen and Lengnau until 7 May 1846, when their right to move and reside freely within the canton of Aargau was granted. On 24 September 1856, the Swiss Federal Council granted them full political rights within Aargau, as well as broad business rights; however the majority Christian population did not fully abide by these new liberal laws. The time of 1860 saw the canton government voting to grant suffrage in all local rights and to give their communities autonomy.
The time of 1860 saw the canton government voting to grant suffrage in all local rights and to give their communities autonomy. Before the law was enacted, it was however repealed due to vocal opposition led by the Ultramonte Party. Finally, the federal authorities in July 1863, granted all Jews full rights of citizens. However, they did not receive all of the rights in Endingen and Lengnau until a resolution of the Grand Council, on 15 May 1877, granted citizens' rights to the members of the Jewish communities of those places, giving them charters under the names of New Endingen and New Lengnau. The "Swiss Jewish Kulturverein" was instrumental in this fight from its founding in 1862 until it was dissolved 20 years later. During this period of diminished rights, they were not even allowed to bury their dead in Swiss soil and had to bury their dead on an island called "Judenäule" (Jews' Isle) on the Rhine near Waldshut. Beginning in 1603, the deceased Jews of the Surbtal communities were buried on the river island which was leased by the Jewish community. Beginning in 1603, the deceased Jews of the Surbtal communities were buried on the river island which was leased by the Jewish community. As the island was repeatedly flooded and devastated, in 1750 the Surbtal Jews asked the "Tagsatzung" to establish the Endingen cemetery in the vicinity of their communities.
Geography. The capital of the canton is Aarau, which is located on its western border, on the Aare. The canton borders Germany (Baden-Württemberg) to the north, the Rhine forming the border. To the west lie the Swiss cantons of Basel-Landschaft, Solothurn and Bern; the canton of Lucerne lies south, and Zürich and Zug to the east. Its total area is . Besides the Rhine, it contains two large rivers, the Aare and the Reuss. The canton of Aargau is one of the least mountainous Swiss cantons, forming part of a great table-land, to the north of the Alps and the east of the Jura, above which rise low hills. The surface of the country is diversified with undulating tracts and well-wooded hills, alternating with fertile valleys watered mainly by the Aare and its tributaries. The valleys alternate with hills, many of which are wooded. Slightly over one-third of the canton is wooded (), while nearly half is used from farming (). or about 2.4% of the canton is considered unproductive, mostly lakes (notably Lake Hallwil) and streams. With a population density of 450/km2 (1,200/sq mi), the canton has a relatively high amount of land used for human development, with or about 15% of the canton developed for housing or transportation.
It contains the hot sulphur springs of Baden and Schinznach-Bad, while at Rheinfelden there are very extensive saline springs. Just below Brugg the Reuss and the Limmat join the Aar, while around Brugg are the ruined castle of Habsburg, the old convent of Königsfelden (with fine painted medieval glass) and the remains of the Roman settlement of Vindonissa (Windisch). Fahr Monastery forms a small exclave of the canton, otherwise surrounded by the canton of Zürich, and since 2008 is part of the Aargau municipality of Würenlos. Political subdivisions. Districts. Aargau is divided into 11 districts: The most recent change in district boundaries occurred in 2010 when Hottwil transferred from Brugg to Laufenburg, following its merger with other municipalities, all of which were in Laufenburg. Municipalities. There are (as of 2014) 213 municipalities in the canton of Aargau. As with most Swiss cantons there has been a trend since the early 2000s for municipalities to merge, though mergers in Aargau have so far been less radical than in other cantons.
Coat of arms. The blazon of the coat of arms is "Per pale, dexter: sable, a fess wavy argent, charged with two cotises wavy azure; sinister: sky blue, three mullets of five argent." The flag and arms of the canton of Aargau date to 1803 and are an original design by Samuel Ringier-Seelmatter; the current official design, specifying the stars as five-pointed, dates to 1930. Demographics. Aargau has a population () of . , 21.5% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010) the population has changed at a rate of 11%. Migration accounted for 8.7%, while births and deaths accounted for 2.8%. Most of the population () speaks German (477,093 or 87.1%) as their first language, Italian is the second most common (17,847 or 3.3%) and Serbo-Croatian is the third (10,645 or 1.9%). There are 4,151 people who speak French and 618 people who speak Romansh. Of the population in the canton, 146,421 or about 26.7% were born in Aargau and lived there in 2000. There were 140,768 or 25.7% who were born in the same canton, while 136,865 or 25.0% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 107,396 or 19.6% were born outside of Switzerland.
, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24.3% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 62.3% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 13.4%. , there were 227,656 people who were single and never married in the canton. There were 264,939 married individuals, 27,603 widows or widowers and 27,295 individuals who are divorced. , there were 224,128 private households in the canton, and an average of 2.4 persons per household. There were 69,062 households that consist of only one person and 16,254 households with five or more people. , the construction rate of new housing units was 6.5 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the canton, , was 1.54%. The majority of the population is centered on one of three areas: the Aare Valley, the side branches of the Aare Valley, or along the Rhine. Historic population. The historical population is given in the following chart: Politics. In the 2011 federal election, the most popular party was the SVP which received 34.7% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SP/PS (18.0%), the FDP (11.5%) and the CVP (10.6%).
The SVP received about the same percentage of the vote as they did in the 2007 Federal election (36.2% in 2007 vs 34.7% in 2011). The SPS retained about the same popularity (17.9% in 2007), the FDP retained about the same popularity (13.6% in 2007) and the CVP retained about the same popularity (13.5% in 2007). Cantonal politics. The Grand Council of the canton of Aargau is called Grosser Rat. It is the legislature of the canton, has 140 seats, with members elected every four years. Religion. From the , 219,800 or 40.1% were Roman Catholic, while 189,606 or 34.6% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 11,523 members of an Orthodox church (or about 2.10% of the population), there were 3,418 individuals (or about 0.62% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 29,580 individuals (or about 5.40% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 342 individuals (or about 0.06% of the population) who were Jewish, and 30,072 (or about 5.49% of the population) who were Muslim. There were 1,463 individuals who were Buddhist, 2,089 individuals who were Hindu and 495 individuals who belonged to another church. 57,573 (or about 10.52% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 15,875 individuals (or about 2.90% of the population) did not answer the question.
Education. In Aargau about 212,069 or (38.7%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 70,896 or (12.9%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a "Fachhochschule"). Of the 70,896 who completed tertiary schooling, 63.6% were Swiss men, 20.9% were Swiss women, 10.4% were non-Swiss men and 5.2% were non-Swiss women. Economy. , Aargau had an unemployment rate of 3.6%. , there were 11,436 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 3,927 businesses involved in this sector. 95,844 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 6,055 businesses in this sector. 177,782 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 21,530 businesses in this sector. the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 238,225. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 7,167, of which 6,731 were in agriculture, 418 were in forestry or lumber production and 18 were in fishing or fisheries. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 90,274 of which 64,089 or (71.0%) were in manufacturing, 366 or (0.4%) were in mining and 21,705 (24.0%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 140,784. In the tertiary sector; 38,793 or 27.6% were in the sale or repair of motor vehicles, 13,624 or 9.7% were in the movement and storage of goods, 8,150 or 5.8% were in a hotel or restaurant, 5,164 or 3.7% were in the information industry, 5,946 or 4.2% were the insurance or financial industry, 14,831 or 10.5% were technical professionals or scientists, 10,951 or 7.8% were in education and 21,952 or 15.6% were in health care.
Of the working population, 19.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 55.3% used a private car. Public transportation – bus and train – is provided by Busbetrieb Aarau AG. The farmland of the canton of Aargau is some of the most fertile in Switzerland. Dairy farming, cereal and fruit farming are among the canton's main economic activities. The canton is also industrially developed, particularly in the fields of electrical engineering, precision instruments, iron, steel, cement and textiles. Three of Switzerland's five nuclear power plants are in the canton of Aargau (Beznau I + II and Leibstadt). Additionally, the many rivers supply enough water for numerous hydroelectric power plants throughout the canton. The canton of Aargau is often called "the energy canton". A significant number of people commute into the financial center of the city of Zürich, which is just across the cantonal border. As such the per capita cantonal income (in 2005) is 49,209 CHF. Tourism is significant, particularly for the hot springs at Baden and Schinznach-Bad, the ancient castles, the landscape, and the many old museums in the canton. Hillwalking is another tourist attraction but is of only limited significance.
Ababda people The Ababda ( or ) are an Arab or Beja tribe in eastern Egypt and Sudan. Historically, most were Bedouins living in the area between the Nile and the Red Sea, with some settling along the trade route linking Korosko with Abu Hamad. Numerous traveler accounts from the nineteenth century report that some Ababda at that time still spoke Beja or a language of their own, hence many secondary sources consider the Ababda to be a Beja subtribe. Most Ababda now speak Arabic and identify as an Arab tribe from the Hijaz. The Ababda have a total population of over 250,000 people. Origin and history. Ababda tribal origin narratives identify them as an Arab people from the Hijaz, descended from Zubayr ibn al-Awwam (possibly through his son Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr) following the Muslim conquest of Egypt. Many published sources in Western languages identify the Ababda as a subtribe of the Beja, or as descendants of speakers of a Cushitic language. Language. Arabic. Today, virtually all Ababda communities speak Arabic. There is no oral tradition of having spoken any other language prior to Arabic, in keeping with Ababda Arab origin narratives.
In a 1996 study, Rudolf de Jong found that the Ababda dialect of Arabic was quite similar to that of the Shukriya people of the Sudan, and concluded that it was an extension of the northern Sudanese dialect area. Alfred von Kremer reported in 1863 that the Ababda had developed an Arabic-based thieves' cant that only they understood. Ababda or Beja Language. There is rich evidence confirming that as late as the second half of the 19th century the Ababda were bilingual in Arabic and a Beja language that was either identical or closely related to Bisharin. A distinct language being spoken by the Ababda has been reported by several early travellers, either identified as Beja or left without further description. In around 1770 the Scottish traveller James Bruce claimed that they spoke the "Barabra" language, Nubian. At the turn of the 19th century, during the French campaign in Egypt and Syria, the engineer Dubois-Aymé wrote that the Ababda understood Arabic, but still spoke a language of their own. In the 1820s Eduard Rüppell briefly stated that the Ababda spoke their own, seemingly non-Arabic language. A similar opinion was written by Pierre Trémaux after his journey in Sudan in the late 1840s.
John Lewis Burckhardt reported that in 1813 those Ababda who co-resided with the Bishari tribe spoke Beja. Alfred von Kremer believed them to be native Beja-speakers and was told that the Ababda were bilingual in Arabic, which they spoke with a heavy accent. Those who resided with the Nubians spoke Kenzi. Robert Hartmann, who visited the country in 1859/60, noted that the vast majority of the Ababda now spoke Arabic. However, in the past they used to speak a Beja dialect that was now, as he was told, solely restricted to a few nomadic families roaming the Eastern Desert. He believed that they abandoned their language in favour of Arabic due to their close contact with other arabophone tribes. The Swedish linguist Herman Almkvist, writing in 1881, counted the Ababda to the Beja and noted that most had discarded the Beja language, supposedly identical to the Bishari dialect, in favour of Arabic, although "quite a lot" were still capable of understanding and even talking Beja. Bishari informants told him that in the past, the Bishari and Ababda were the same people. Joseph Russegger, who visited the country around 1840, noted that the Ababda spoke their own language, although he added that it was heavily mixed with Arabic. He believed it to be a "Nubian Bedouin" language and implied that this language, and the Ababda customs and appearance in general, is similar to that of the Bishari. Traveller Bayard Taylor wrote in 1856 that the Ababda spoke a language different from that of the Bishari, although it "probably sprang from the same original stock." The French Orientalist Eusèbe de Salle concluded in 1840, after attending a Beja conversation between Ababda and Bishari, that both understood each other reasonably well, but that the Ababda "definitely" had a language of their own. The physician Carl Benjamin Klunzinger wrote in 1878 that the Ababda would always speak Arabic while conversing with strangers, avoiding to speak their own language which he thought was a mixture of Arabic and Beja.
American Quarter Horse The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of or less; some have been clocked at speeds up to . The development of the Quarter Horse traces to the 1600s. The American Quarter Horse is the most popular breed in the United States, and the American Quarter Horse Association is the largest breed registry in the world, with almost three million living American Quarter Horses registered in 2014. The American Quarter Horse is well known both as a race horse and for its performance in rodeos, horse shows, and as a working ranch horse. The compact body of the American Quarter Horse is well suited for the intricate and quick maneuvers required in reining, cutting, working cow horse, barrel racing, calf roping, and other western riding events, especially those involving live cattle. The American Quarter Horse is also used in English disciplines, driving, show jumping, dressage, hunting, and many other equestrian activities.
The Texas Legislature designated the American Quarter Horse as the official "State Horse of Texas" in 2009, and Oklahoma also designated the Quarter Horse as its official state horse in 2022. Breed history. Colonial era. In the 1600s, imported English Thoroughbred horses were first bred with assorted local horses on the Eastern seaboard of colonial America. One of the most famous of these early imports was Janus, a Thoroughbred who was the grandson of the Godolphin Arabian. He was foaled in 1746, and imported to colonial Virginia in 1756. The influence of Thoroughbreds like Janus contributed genes crucial to the development of the colonial "Quarter Horse". The resulting horse was small, hardy, quick, and was used as a work horse during the week and a race horse on the weekends. As flat racing became popular with the colonists, the Quarter Horse gained even more popularity as a sprinter over courses that, by necessity, were shorter than the classic racecourses of England. These courses were often no more than a straight stretch of road or flat piece of open land. When competing against a Thoroughbred, local sprinters often won. As the Thoroughbred breed became established in America, many colonial Quarter Horses were included in the original American stud books. This began a long association between the Thoroughbred breed and what would later become officially known as the "Quarter Horse", named after the race distance at which it excelled. Some Quarter Horses have been clocked at up to .
Westward expansion. In the 19th century, pioneers heading West needed a hardy, willing horse. On the Great Plains, settlers encountered horses that descended from the Spanish stock Hernán Cortés and other Conquistadors had introduced into the viceroyalty of New Spain, which became the Southwestern United States and Mexico. The horses of the West included herds of feral animals known as Mustangs, as well as horses domesticated by Native Americans, including the Comanche, Shoshoni and Nez Perce tribes. As the colonial Quarter Horse was crossed with these western horses, the pioneers found that the new crossbred had innate "cow sense", a natural instinct for working with cattle, making it popular with cattlemen on ranches. Development as a distinct breed. Early foundation sires of Quarter Horse type included Steel Dust, foaled 1843; Shiloh (or Old Shiloh), foaled 1844; Old Cold Deck (1862); Lock's Rondo, one of many "Rondo" horses, foaled in 1880; Old Billy—again, one of many "Billy" horses—foaled ; Traveler, a stallion of unknown breeding, known to have been in Texas by 1889; and Peter McCue, foaled 1895, registered as a Thoroughbred but of disputed pedigree. Another early foundation sire for the breed was Copperbottom, foaled in 1828, who tracks his lineage through the Byerley Turk, a foundation sire of the Thoroughbred horse breed.
The main duty of the ranch horse in the American West was working cattle. Even after the invention of the automobile, horses were still irreplaceable for handling livestock on the range. Thus, major Texas cattle ranches, such as the King Ranch, the 6666 (Four Sixes) Ranch, and the Waggoner Ranch played a significant role in the development of the modern Quarter Horse. The skills required by cowboys and their horses became the foundation of the rodeo, a contest which began with informal competition between cowboys and expanded to become a major competitive event throughout the west. The Quarter Horse dominates in events that require speed as well as the ability to handle cattle. Sprint races were also popular weekend entertainment and racing became a source of economic gain for breeders. As a result, more Thoroughbred blood was added into the developing American Quarter Horse breed. The American Quarter Horse also benefitted from the addition of Arabian, Morgan, and even Standardbred bloodlines. In 1940, the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) was formed by a group of horsemen and ranchers from the Southwestern United States dedicated to preserving the pedigrees of their ranch horses. After winning the 1941 Fort Worth Exposition and Fat Stock Show grand champion stallion, the horse honored with the first registration number, P-1, was Wimpy, a descendant of the King Ranch foundation sire Old Sorrel. Other sires alive at the founding of the AQHA were given the earliest registration numbers Joe Reed P-3, Chief P-5, Oklahoma Star P-6, Cowboy P-12, and Waggoner's Rainy Day P-13. The Thoroughbred race horse Three Bars, alive in the early years of the AQHA, is recognized by the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame as one of the significant foundation sires for the Quarter Horse breed. Other significant Thoroughbred sires seen in early AQHA pedigrees include Rocket Bar, Top Deck and Depth Charge.
"Appendix" and "Foundation" horses. Since the American Quarter Horse was formally established as a breed, the AQHA stud book has remained open to additional Thoroughbred blood via a performance standard. An "Appendix" American Quarter Horse is a first generation cross between a registered Thoroughbred and an American Quarter Horse or a cross between a "numbered" American Quarter Horse and an "appendix" American Quarter Horse. The resulting offspring is registered in the "appendix" of the American Quarter Horse Association's studbook, hence the nickname. Horses listed in the appendix may be entered in competition, but offspring are not initially eligible for full AQHA registration. If the Appendix horse meets certain conformational criteria and is shown or raced successfully in sanctioned AQHA events, the horse can earn its way from the appendix into the permanent studbook, making its offspring eligible for AQHA registration. Since Quarter Horse/Thoroughbred crosses continue to enter the official registry of the American Quarter Horse breed, this creates a continual gene flow from the Thoroughbred breed into the American Quarter Horse breed, which has altered many of the characteristics that typified the breed in the early years of its formation. Some breeders argue that the continued addition of Thoroughbred bloodlines are beginning to compromise the integrity of the breed standard. Some favor the earlier style of horse and have created several separate organizations to promote and register "Foundation" Quarter Horses.
Modern American Quarter Horse. The American Quarter Horse is a show horse, race horse, reining and cutting horse, rodeo competitor, ranch horse, and all-around family horse. Quarter Horses are commonly used in rodeo events such as barrel racing, calf roping and team roping; and gymkhana or O-Mok-See. Other stock horse events such as cutting and reining are open to all breeds but are dominated by American Quarter Horse. The breed is not only well-suited for western riding and cattle work. Many race tracks offer Quarter Horses a wide assortment of pari-mutuel horse racing with earnings in the millions. Quarter Horses have also been trained to compete in dressage and show jumping. They are also used for recreational trail riding and in mounted police units. The American Quarter Horse has also been exported worldwide. European nations such as Germany and Italy have imported large numbers of Quarter Horses. Next to the American Quarter Horse Association (which also encompasses Quarter Horses from Canada), the second largest registry of Quarter Horses is in Brazil, followed by Australia. In the UK the breed is also becoming very popular, especially with the two Western riding Associations, the Western Horse Association and The Western Equestrian Society. The British American Quarter Horse breed society is the AQHA-UK. With the internationalization of the discipline of reining and its acceptance as one of the official seven events of the World Equestrian Games, there is a growing international interest in Quarter Horses. The American Quarter Horse is the most popular breed in the United States, and the American Quarter Horse Association is the largest breed registry in the world, with nearly 3 million American Quarter Horses registered worldwide in 2014.
Breed characteristics. The Quarter Horse has a small, short, refined head with a straight profile, and a strong, well-muscled body, featuring a broad chest and powerful, rounded hindquarters. They usually stand between high, although some Halter-type and English hunter-type horses may grow as tall as . There are two main body types: the stock type and the hunter or racing type. The stock horse type is shorter, more compact, stocky and well-muscled, yet agile. The racing and hunter type Quarter Horses are somewhat taller and smoother muscled than the stock type, more closely resembling the Thoroughbred. Quarter Horses come in nearly all colors. The most common color is sorrel, a brownish red, part of the color group called chestnut by most other breed registries. Other recognized colors include bay, black, brown, buckskin, palomino, gray, dun, red dun, grullo (also occasionally referred to as blue dun), red roan, blue roan, bay roan, perlino, cremello, and white. In the past, spotted color patterns were excluded, but now with the advent of DNA testing to verify parentage, the registry accepts all colors as long as both parents are registered.
Stock type. A stock horse is a horse of a type that is well suited for working with livestock, particularly cattle. Reining and cutting horses are smaller in stature, with quick, agile movements and very powerful hindquarters. Western pleasure show horses are often slightly taller, with slower movements, smoother gaits, and a somewhat more level topline – though still featuring the powerful hindquarters characteristic of the Quarter Horse. Halter type. Horses shown in-hand in Halter competition are larger yet, with a very heavily muscled appearance, while retaining small heads with wide jowls and refined muzzles. There is controversy amongst owners, breeder and veterinarians regarding the health effects of the extreme muscle mass that is currently fashionable in the specialized halter horse, which typically is and weighs in at over when fitted for halter competition. Not only are there concerns about the weight to frame ratio on the horse's skeletal system, but the massive build is also linked to hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HYPP) in descendants of the stallion Impressive (see Genetic diseases below).
Racing and hunter type. Quarter Horse race horses are bred to sprint short distances ranging from 220 to 870 yards. Thus, they have long legs and are leaner than their stock type counterparts, but are still characterized by muscular hindquarters and powerful legs. Quarter Horses race primarily against other Quarter Horses, and their sprinting ability has earned them the nickname, "the world's fastest athlete." The show hunter type is slimmer, even more closely resembling a Thoroughbred, usually reflecting a higher percentage of appendix breeding. They are shown in hunter/jumper classes at both breed shows and in open USEF-rated horse show competition. Genetic diseases. There are several genetic diseases of concern to Quarter Horse breeders. Most can now be identified by DNA testing so that breeders do not inadvertently produce foals with these conditions:
Abacá Abacá ( ; ), also known as Manila hemp, is a species of banana, Musa textilis, endemic to the Philippines. The plant grows to , and averages about . The plant has great economic importance, being harvested for its fiber extracted from the leaf-stems. The lustrous fiber is traditionally hand-loomed into various indigenous textiles (abaca cloth or medriñaque) in the Philippines. They are still featured prominently as the traditional material of the barong tagalog, the national male attire of the Philippines, as well as in sheer lace-like fabrics called "nipis" used in various clothing components. Native abaca textiles also survive into the modern era among various ethnic groups, like the "t'nalak" of the T'boli people and the "dagmay" of the Bagobo people. Abaca is also used in traditional Philippine millinery, as well as for bags, shawls, and other decorative items. The hatmaking straw made from Manila hemp is called "tagal" or "tagal straw". The fiber is also exceptionally strong, stronger than hemp and naturally salt-resistant, making it ideal for making twines and ropes (especially for maritime shipping). It became a major trade commodity in the colonial era for this reason. The abaca industry declined sharply in the mid-20th century when abaca plantations were decimated by World War II and plant diseases, as well as the invention of nylon in the 1930s. Today, abaca is mostly used in a variety of specialized paper products including tea bags, filter paper and banknotes. Manila envelopes and Manila paper derive their name from this fiber.
Abaca is classified as a hard fiber, along with coir, henequin and sisal. Abaca is grown as a commercial crop in the Philippines, Ecuador, Costa Rica. Description. The abacá plant is stoloniferous, meaning that the plant produces runners or shoots along the ground that then root at each segment. Cutting and transplanting rooted runners is the primary technique for creating new plants, since seed growth is substantially slower. Abacá has a "false trunk" or pseudostem about in diameter. The leaf stalks (petioles) are expanded at the base to form sheaths that are tightly wrapped together to form the pseudostem. There are from 12 to 25 leaves, dark green on the top and pale green on the underside, sometimes with large brown patches. They are oblong in shape with a deltoid base. They grow in succession. The petioles grow to at least in length. When the plant is mature, the flower stalk grows up inside the pseudostem. The male flower has five petals, each about long. The leaf sheaths contain the valuable fiber. After harvesting, the coarse fibers range in length from long. They are composed primarily of cellulose, lignin, and pectin.
The fruit, which is inedible and is rarely seen as harvesting occurs before the plant fruits, grows to about in length and in diameter. It has black turbinate seeds that are in diameter. Systematics. The abacá plant belongs to the banana family, Musaceae; it resembles the closely related wild seeded bananas, "Musa acuminata" and "Musa balbisiana". Its scientific name is "Musa textilis". Within the genus "Musa", it is placed in section "Callimusa" (now including the former section "Australimusa"), members of which have a diploid chromosome number of 2n" "= 20. Genetic diversity. The Philippines, especially the Bicol region in Luzon, has the most abaca genotypes and cultivars. Genetic analysis using simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers revealed that the Philippines' abaca germplasm is genetically diverse. Abaca genotypes in Luzon had higher genetic diversity than Visayas and Mindanao. Ninety-five (95) percent was attributed to molecular variance within the population, and only 5% of the molecular variance to variation among populations. Genetic analysis by Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA) revealed several clusters irrespective of geographical origin.
History. Before synthetic textiles came into use, "M. textilis" was a major source of high quality fiber: soft, silky and fine. Ancestors of the modern abacá are thought to have originated from the eastern Philippines, where there is significant rainfall throughout the year. Wild varieties of abacá can still be found in the interior forests of the island province of Catanduanes, away from cultivated areas. Today, Catanduanes has many other modern kinds of abacá which are more competitive. For many years, breeders from various research institutions have made the cultivated varieties of Catanduanes even more competitive in local and international markets. This results in the optimum production of the island which had a consistent highest production throughout the archipelago. 16th century. Europeans first came into contact with Abacá fibre when Ferdinand Magellan landed in the Philippines in 1521, as the natives were already cultivating it and utilizing it in bulk for textiles. Throughout the Spanish colonial era, it was referred to as "medriñaque" cloth. 19th century.
By 1897, the Philippines were exporting almost 100,000 tons of abacá, and it was one of the three biggest cash crops, along with tobacco and sugar. In fact, from 1850 through the end of the 19th century, sugar or abacá alternated with each other as the biggest export crop of the Philippines. This 19th-century trade was predominantly with the United States and the making of ropes was done mainly in New England, although in time rope-making shifted back to the Philippines. From 1898 to 1946, the United States colonized the Philippines following the Spanish-American War. The Guggenheim claims the "colonial government found ways to prevent Filipinos from profiting off of the abaca crops, instead favoring the businesses of American expats and Japanese immigrants, as well as ensuring that the bulk of the abaca harvests were exported to the United States" for use in military initiatives. 20th century. In the early 1900s, a train running from Danao to Argao would transport Philippine abacá from the plantations to Cebu City for export. The railway system was destroyed during World War II; the abaca continues to be transported to Cebu by road.
Outside the Philippines, abacá was first cultivated on a large scale in Sumatra in 1925 under the Dutch, who had observed its cultivation in the Philippines for cordage since the nineteenth century, followed up by plantings in Central America in 1929 sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It also was transplanted into India and Guam. Commercial planting began in 1930 in British North Borneo; at the onset of World War II, the supply from the Philippines was eliminated by the Empire of Japan. After the war, the U.S. Department of Agriculture started production in Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala. 21st century. Today, abacá is produced primarily in the Philippines and Ecuador. The Philippines produces between 85% and 95% of the world's abacá, and the production employs 1.5 million people. Production has declined because of virus diseases. Cultivation. The plant is normally grown in well-drained loamy soil, using rhizomes planted at the start of the rainy season. In addition, new plants can be started by seeds. Growers harvest abacá fields every three to eight months after an initial growth period of 12–25 months. Harvesting is done by removing the leaf-stems after flowering but before the fruit appears. The plant loses productivity between 15 and 40 years. The slopes of volcanoes provide a preferred growing environment. Harvesting generally includes several operations involving the leaf sheaths:
When the processing is complete, the bundles of fiber are pale and lustrous with a length of . In Costa Rica, more modern harvest and drying techniques are being developed to accommodate the very high yields obtained there. According to the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority, the Philippines provided 87.4% of the world's abacá in 2014, earning the Philippines US$111.33 million. The demand is still greater than the supply. The remainder came from Ecuador (12.5%) and Costa Rica (0.1%). The Bicol region in the Philippines produced 27,885 metric tons of abacá in 2014, the largest of any Philippine region. The Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP) and the Department of Agriculture reported that in 2009–2013, Bicol Region had a 39% share of Philippine abacá production of which an overwhelming 92% came from Catanduanes Island. Eastern Visayas, the second largest producer had 24% and the Davao Region, the third largest producer had 11% of the total production. Around 42 percent of the total abacá fiber shipments from the Philippines went to the United Kingdom in 2014, making it the top importer. Germany imported 37.1 percent abacá pulp from the Philippines, importing around 7,755 metric tons (MT). Sales of abacá cordage surged 20 percent in 2014 to a total of 5,093" "MT from 4,240" "MT, with the United States holding around 68 percent of the market.
Pathogens. Abacá is vulnerable to a number of pathogens, notably abaca bunchy top virus, abaca bract mosaic virus, and abaca mosaic virus. Uses. Due to its strength, it is a sought after product and is the strongest of the natural fibers. It is used by the paper industry for such specialty uses such as tea bags, banknotes and decorative papers. It can be used to make handcrafts such as hats, bags, carpets, clothing and furniture. Lupis is the finest quality of abacá. Sinamay is woven chiefly from abacá. Textiles. Abacá fibers were traditionally woven into sturdy textiles and clothing in the Philippines since pre-colonial times. Along with cotton, they were the main source of textile fibers used for clothing in the pre-colonial Philippines. Abacá cloth was often compared to calico in terms of texture and was a major trade commodity in the pre-colonial maritime trade and the Spanish colonial era. There are multiple traditional types and names of abaca cloth among the different ethnic groups of the Philippines. Undyed plain abacá cloth, woven from fine fibers of abaca, is generally known as "sinamáy" in most of the islands. Abacá cloth with a more delicate texture is called "tinampipi". While especially fine lace-like abacá cloth is called "nipis" or "lupis". Fine abacá fibers may also be woven with "piña", silk, or fine cotton to create a fabric called "jusi".
Traditional abacá textiles were often dyed in various colors from various natural dyes. These include blue from indigo ("tarum", "dagum", "tayum", etc.); black from ebony ("knalum" or "batulinao") leaves; red from noni roots and "sapang"; yellow from turmeric ("kalawag", "kuning", etc.); and so on. They were often woven into specific patterns, and further ornamented with embroidery, beadwork, and other decorations. Most clothing made from abacá took the form of the "baro" (also "barú" or "bayú", literally "shirt" or "clothing"), a simple collar-less shirt or jacket with close-fitting long sleeves worn by both men and women in most ethnic groups in the pre-colonial Philippines. These were paired with wraparound sarong-like skirts (for both men and women), close-fitting pants, or loincloths ("bahag"). During the Spanish colonial era, abacá cloth became known as medriñaque in Spanish (apparently derived from a native Cebuano name). They were exported to other Spanish colonies since the 16th century. A waistcoat of a native Quechua man in Peru was recorded as being made of medriñaque as early as 1584. Abacá cloth also appear in English records, spelled variously as medrinacks, medrianacks, medrianackes, and medrinacles, among other names. They were used as canvas for sails and for stiffening clothing like skirts, collars, and doublets.
Philippine indigenous tribes still weave abacá-based textiles like "t'nalak", made by the Tiboli tribe of South Cotabato, and "dagmay", made by the Bagobo people. Abacá cloth is found in museum collections around the world, like the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Textile Museum of Canada. The inner fibers are also used in the making of hats, including the "Manila hats", hammocks, matting, cordage, ropes, coarse twines, and types of canvas. Manila rope. Manila rope is a type of rope made from manila hemp. Manila rope is very durable, flexible, and resistant to salt water damage, allowing its use in rope, hawsers, ships' lines, and fishing nets. A rope can require to break. Manilla rope is still the only material specified for lifeboat falls (the ropes with which a ship's lifeboat is lowered) in the United Kingdom. Manila ropes shrink when they become wet. This effect can be advantageous under certain circumstances, but if it is not a wanted feature, it should be well taken into account. Since shrinkage is more pronounced the first time the rope becomes wet, new rope is usually immersed into water and put to dry before use so that the shrinkage is less than it would be if the rope had never been wet. A major disadvantage in this shrinkage is that many knots made with manila rope became harder and more difficult to untie when wet, thus becoming subject of increased stress. Manila rope will rot after a period of time when exposed to saltwater. Manila hemp rope was previously the favoured variety of rope used for executions by hanging, both in the U.K. and USA. Usually 3/4 to 1 inch diameter, boiled prior to use to take out any overelasticity. It was also used in the 19th century as whaling line. Abacá fiber was once used primarily for rope, but this application is now of minor significance.
Abaddon The Hebrew term Abaddon ( , meaning "destruction", "doom") and its Greek equivalent Apollyon (, "Apollúōn" meaning "Destroyer") appear in the Bible as both a place of destruction and an angel of the abyss. In the Hebrew Bible, "abaddon" is used with reference to a bottomless pit, often appearing alongside the place Sheol ( ), meaning the resting place of dead peoples. In the Book of Revelation of the New Testament, an angel called Abaddon is described as the king of an army of locusts; his name is first transcribed in Koine Greek (Revelation 9:11—"whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon") as , and then translated , "Apollyon". The Vulgate and the Douay–Rheims Bible have additional notes not present in the Greek text, "in Latin "Exterminans"", being the Latin word for "destroyer". In medieval Christian literature, Abaddon's portrayal diverges significantly, as seen in the "Song of Roland", an 11th-century epic poem. Abaddon is depicted as part of a fictional trinity, alongside Mahome (Mahound) and Termagant (Termagaunt), which the poem attributes to the religious practices of Muslims.
Etymology. According to the Brown–Driver–Briggs lexicon, the Hebrew is an intensive form of the Semitic root and verb stem "perish", transitive "destroy", which occurs 184 times in the Hebrew Bible. The Septuagint, an early Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, renders "Abaddon" as "" (), while the Greek is the active participle of ἀπόλλυμι , "to destroy". Judaism. Hebrew Bible. The term "abaddon" appears six times in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible; "abaddon" means destruction or "place of destruction", or the realm of the dead, and is accompanied by Sheol. Second Temple era texts. The Thanksgiving Hymns—a text found amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947—tell of "the Sheol of Abaddon" and of the "torrents of Belial [that] burst into Abaddon". The "Biblical Antiquities" (misattributed to Philo) mention Abaddon as a place (destruction) rather than as an individual. Abaddon is also one of the compartments of Gehenna. By extension, the name can refer to an underworld abode of lost souls, or Gehenna. Rabbinical literature.
In some legends, Abaddon is identified as a realm where the damned lie in fire and snow, one of the places in Gehenna that Moses visited. Christianity. The New Testament contains the first known depiction of "Abaddon" as an individual entity instead of a place. In the Old Testament, Abaddon and Death can be personified: And, And, And, The Hebrew text of Proverbs 6:32 does not contain the noun () but a participial form of the verb (). But the Septuagint uses (), the accusative case of the noun () with which it also translates in five of the six Hebrew verses that contain the word. (Though an English interlinear of the Septuagint might read "destruction the soul of him obtains", the reader should understand that "adulterer" is the subject, "soul" is the indirect object, and "destruction" is the direct object.) In Revelation 9:11, Abaddon is described as "Destroyer", the angel of the Abyss, and as the king of a plague of locusts resembling horses with crowned human faces, women's hair, lions' teeth, wings, iron breast-plates, and a tail with a scorpion's stinger that torments for five months anyone who does not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
The symbolism of Revelation 9:11 leaves the identity of Abaddon open to interpretation. Protestant commentator Matthew Henry (1708) believed Abaddon to be the Antichrist, whereas the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary (1871) and Henry Hampton Halley (1922) identified the angel as Satan. Early in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress the Christian pilgrim fights "over half a day" long with the demon Apollyon. This book permeated Christianity in the English-speaking world for 300 years after its first publication in 1678. In contrast, the Methodist publication "The Interpreter's Bible" states, "Abaddon, however, is an angel not of Satan but of God, performing his work of destruction at God's bidding", citing the context at Revelation chapter 20, verses 1 through 3. Jehovah's Witnesses also cite Revelation 20:1-3 where the angel having "the key of the abyss" is actually shown to be a representative of God, concluding that "Abaddon" is another name for Jesus after his resurrection. In Medieval Christian Literature.
In medieval Christian literature, the depiction of Abaddon often mirrors the religious and cultural contexts of the time. A notable illustration of this is found in the Song of Roland, an 11th-century epic poem. This work associates Abaddon with figures such as Mahome (Mahound), Apollyon (Appolin), and Termagant, which are presented as deities in the context of the poem's portrayal of Muslims. The inclusion of Apollyon, a name sometimes linked with Abaddon in Christian texts, highlights the interpretative approaches of the period towards Islamic practices. Such literary representations in medieval Christian literature are indicative of the broader context of interfaith understanding and relations during the Middle Ages. They reflect the complexities and nuances in the depiction of figures like Abaddon and their perceived associations with other faiths. Mandaeism. Mandaean scriptures such as the "Ginza Rabba" mention the Abaddons () as part of the World of Darkness. The "Right Ginza" mentions the existence of the "upper Abaddons" () as well as the "lower Abaddons" (). The final poem of the "Left Ginza" mentions the "House of the Abaddons" ().
Häberl (2022) considers the Mandaic word "ʿbdunia" to be a borrowing from Hebrew. Apocryphal texts. In the 3rd-century Gnostic text Acts of Thomas, Abaddon is the name of a demon, or the devil himself. Abaddon is given particularly important roles in two sources, a homily entitled "The Enthronement of Abaddon" by pseudo-Timothy of Alexandria, and the "Book of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, by Bartholomew the Apostle". In the homily by Timothy, Abaddon was first named "Muriel", and had been given the task by God of collecting the earth that would be used in the creation of Adam. Upon completion of this task, the angel was appointed as a guardian. Everyone, including the angels, demons, and corporeal entities feared him. Abaddon was promised that any who venerated him in life could be saved. Abaddon is also said to have a prominent role in the Last Judgment, as the one who will take the souls to the Valley of Josaphat. He is described in the "Book of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ" as being present in the Tomb of Jesus at the moment of the resurrection of Jesus.
Abadeh Abadeh () is a city in the Central District of Abadeh County, Fars province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Abadeh is the largest city in the Northern Fars Region (South-Central Iran), which is famed for its carved wood-work, made of the wood of pear and box trees. Sesame oil, castor oil, grain, and various fruits are also produced there. The area is famous for its Abadeh rugs. The city is closer in road distance to the four provincial capitals of Isfahan (193 km), Yasuj (197 km), Yazd (217 km), and Shahrekord (237 km) compared with the distance to its own provincial capital, Shiraz (260 km). History. According to the texts of archaeologists, the settlement in the current area of Abadeh dates back to the first millennium BC. Nomadic Kurdish groups were the first to settle in the plain between Abadeh and Isfahan in the Achaemenid period. Remaining ancient monuments, such as the ancient castle of Izadkhas and Bahram Gur Palace in Surmaq, are proofs of the existence of culture and civilization in this geographical area. Abadeh city has a special position due to its location at the three-way communication between Isfahan, Yazd and Shiraz.
Demographics. Population. At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 52,042 in 14,184 households. The following census in 2011 counted 55,758 people in 16,546 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 59,116 people in 18,965 households. Geography. Location. Abadeh is at an elevation of in a fertile plain on the high road between Isfahan and Shiraz, from the former and from the latter. Abadeh is in the northernmost point of Fars province. The city is connected to Isfahan province from the north and west, Safacity and Eqlid from the south, and Yazd province from the east. The city is located north of Shiraz, south of Tehran, south of Isfahan, and southwest of Yazd. The geographical area of Abadeh is , which is about 11% of the total area of the province. Climate. Abadeh features an arid climate (Köppen climate classification "BWk") with heat and dryness over summer, and cold (extreme at times) and relatively wetter winters, with huge variations between daytime and nighttime throughout the year. The area can experience severely cold weather due to its high elevation.
Economy. Air defense base. In 2012 Iran announced it had started the construction of an air defense site in the city of Abadeh. The site is planned to be the largest in the country and will house 6,000 personnel for a variety of duties, including educational ones. Mining. The mines located in this city are: Esteghlal Abadeh large refractory soil mine is one of the largest producers of this mineral. In addition to the Esteghlal refractory mine, there is also an industrial mine around the city where the raw materials are from tile, ceramic and brick factories in the country. Arts and crafts. Handicrafts. Abadeh woodwork is world famous and its examples are kept in world museums as the best works of art. The carvings of the Marble Palace were made by the artists of this city, such as Master Ahmad Emami. In 2017, the World Council of Handicrafts (WCC) introduced Abadeh as the world city of carving. Monbat Abadeh has 150 active domestic or commercial carving workshops and 5000 carving artists. Abadeh crafts can be embroidered in cotton. The town also produces Abadeh rugs.
The rugs tend to be based on a cotton warp and have a thin, tightly knotted pile. Most Abadeh rugs are closely cut making them very flat. Although some of the older Abadehs vary in style, many of the new designs are easily recognisable. These new designs, known as Heybatlu consist of a single diamond shaped medallion in the centre with smaller medallions on each corner. The pattern is typically geometrical flowers or animals and the main colours are light reds or burnt orange on top of a dark blue background with strong green details. The corners or borders are generally ivory in colour. Although some Abadeh and Shiraz rugs appear similar Abadeh can normally be differentiated by their higher knot counts as well as the fact that the warp is invariably cotton. The rugs are almost always exclusively medium in size and the KPSI of an average Abadeh is around 90. As always in the rug-world you get what you pay for however in general Abadeh are well made and fairly popular items, particularly in modern interiors or those with a Mediterranean or North African style.
Transportation. Expressway 65 passes through Abadeh. This situation helps Abadeh to improve its capabilities compared to the neighboring city, Eqlid. Road 78 makes connections from Abadeh to Abarkuh, Yazd Eqlid and Yasuj. It has a junction with Abadeh Shiraz Expressway 24 km south of the city. A road starts from Abadeh Ring Road to Soqad and Semirom, Road 55. The railroad from Isfahan to Shiraz passes Abadeh and there are train services at Abadeh Railway Station to Shiraz, Esfahan, Tehran and Mashad. Abadeh Airport (OISA) was planned to be built in the mid-1990s. Historical monuments. Abadeh historical monuments include Emirate Kolah Farangi, Tymcheh Sarafyan and Khaje tomb, located in the Khoja mountains. Sports. Abadeh's main sport is football, as in the rest of the country. The main stadium is Takhti Stadium located in Mo'allem Square. The main team in Abadeh is Behineh Rahbar Abadeh F.C. which is currently playing in Iran Football's 3rd Division after finishing first in Fars Provincial League (FPL) last year. It played in Hazfi Cup 2010-11 reaching the fourth round.
Abae Abae (, "") was an ancient town in the northeastern corner of ancient Phocis, in Greece, near the frontiers of the Opuntian Locrians, said to have been built by the Argive Abas, son of Lynceus and Hypermnestra, and grandson of Danaus. This bit of legend suggests an origin or at least an existence in the Bronze Age, and sites protohistory supports a continued existence in Iron-Age antiquity. It was famous for its oracle of Apollo Abaeus, one of those consulted by Croesus, king of Lydia, and Mardonius, among others. The site of the oracle was rediscovered at Kalapodi and excavated in modern times. The results confirm an archaeological existence dating from the Bronze Age, as is suggested by the lore, and continuous occupation from the Early Bronze Age to the Roman Period. History. Before the Persian invasion, the temple was richly adorned with treasuries and votive offerings. It was twice destroyed by fire; the first time by the Persians in the invasion of Xerxes in their march through Phocis (480 BCE), and a second time by the Boeotians in the Sacred or Phocian War in 346 BCE. It was rebuilt by Hadrian. Hadrian caused a smaller temple to be built near the ruins of the former one. In the new temple there were three ancient statues in brass of Apollo, Leto, and Artemis, which had been dedicated by the Abaei, and had perhaps been saved from the former temple. The ancient agora and the ancient theatre still existed in the town in the time of Pausanias. According to the statement of Aristotle, as preserved by Strabo, Thracians from the Phocian town of Abae immigrated to Euboea, and gave to the inhabitants the name of Abantes.
Oracle. Despite destruction of the town, the oracle was still consulted, e.g. by the Thebans before the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BCE. The temple, along with the village of the same name, may have escaped destruction during the Third Sacred War (355–346 BCE), due to the respect given to the inhabitants; however, it was in a very dilapidated state when seen by Pausanias in the 2nd century CE, though some restoration, as well as the building of a new temple, was undertaken by Emperor Hadrian. The sanctity of the shrine ensured certain privileges to the people of Abae, and these were confirmed by the Romans. The Persians did not reflect this opinion and would destroy all the temples that they overcame, Abae included. The Greeks pledged not to rebuild them as a memorial of the ravages of the Persians. Among the most exciting recent archaeological discoveries in Greece is the recognition that the sanctuary site near the modern village of Kalapodi is not only the site of the oracle of Apollon at Abae, but that it was in constant use for cult practices from early Mycenaean times to the Roman period. It is thus the first site where the archaeology confirms the continuity of Mycenaean and Classical Greek religion, which has been inferred from the presence of the names of Classical Greek divinities on Linear B texts from Pylos and Knossos.
The fortified site described below, originally identified as Abae by Colonel William Leake in the 19th century, is much more likely to be that of the Sanctuary of Artemis at Hyampolis: "The polygonal walls of the acropolis may still be seen in a fair state of preservation on a circular hill standing about 500 ft. [150 m] above the little plain of Exarcho; one gateway remains, and there are also traces of town walls below. The temple site was on a low spur of the hill, below the town. An early terrace wall supports a precinct in which are a stoa and some remains of temples; these were excavated by the British School at Athens in 1894, but very little was found." The oracle was mentioned in Oedipus Rex.
Abakan Abakan (; , or ) is the capital city of Khakassia, Russia, located in the central part of the Minusinsk Depression, at the confluence of the Yenisei and Abakan Rivers. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 165,214—a slight increase over 165,197 recorded during the 2002 Census and a further increase from 154,092 recorded during the 1989 Census. History. Abakansky "ostrog" (), also known as Abakansk (), was built at the mouth of the Abakan River in 1675. In the 1780s, the "selo" of Ust-Abakanskoye () was established in this area. It was granted town status and given its current name on 30 April 1931. In 1940, Russian construction workers found ancient ruins during the construction of a highway between Abakan and Askiz. When the site was excavated by Soviet archaeologists in 1941–1945, they realized that they had discovered a building absolutely unique for the area: a large (1500 square meters) Chinese-style, likely Han dynasty era (206 BC–220 AD) palace. The identity of the high-ranking personage who lived luxuriously in Chinese style, far outside the Han Empire's borders, has remained a matter for discussion ever since. Russian archaeologist surmised, based on circumstantial evidence, that the palace may have been the residence of Li Ling, a Chinese general who had been defeated by the Xiongnu in 99 BCE, and defected to them as a result. While this opinion has remained popular, other views have been expressed as well. More recently, for example, it was claimed by as the residence of Lu Fang (), a Han throne pretender from the Guangwu era.
Lithuanian and Polish exiles. In the late 18th and during the 19th century, Lithuanian participants in the 1794, 1830–1831, and 1863 rebellions against Russian rule were exiled to Abakan. A group of camps was established where prisoners were forced to work in the coal mines. After Stalin's death, Lithuanian exiles from the nearby settlements moved in. Also Polish exiles were deported to Khakassia, with the some descendants still living in the region. In 1994, a local Polish school was founded, which was supported by the local authorities until 2014, and in 1999, a Polish-language faculty was introduced at the local Khakassian State University. Administrative and municipal status. Abakan is the capital of the republic. Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as the City of Abakan—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts As a municipal division, the City of Abakan is incorporated as Abakan Urban Okrug. Economy. The city has an industry enterprises, Katanov State University of Khakasia, and three theatres. Furthermore, it has a commercial center that produces footwear, foodstuffs, and metal products.
Transportation. Abakan (together with Tayshet) was a terminal of the major Abakan-Taishet Railway. Now it is an important railway junction. The city is served by the Abakan International Airport. Military. The 100th Air Assault Brigade of the Russian Airborne Troops was based in the city until circa 1996. Sites. Abakan's sites of interest include: Sports. Bandy, similar to hockey, is one of the most popular sports in the city. Sayany-Khakassia was playing in the top-tier Super League in the 2012–13 season but was relegated for the 2013–14 season and has been playing in the Russian Bandy Supreme League ever since. The Russian Government Cup was played here in 1988 and in 2012. Geography. Climate. Abakan has a borderline Dry-winter continental (Köppen climate classification "Dwb")/cold semi-arid climate (Köppen "BSk"). Temperature differences between seasons are extreme, which is typical for Siberia. Precipitation is concentrated in the summer and is less common because of rain shadows from nearby mountains. Local government.
The structure of the local government in the city of Abakan is as follows: The council consists of 28 deputies. Deputies are elected in single-member constituencies and on party lists. Elections of deputies of the VI convocation were held on a single voting day in 2018. In 2021, the annual Nikolai Bulakin Prize of Abakan was established for outstanding services and achievements in the city's development. The award includes a monetary reward of 200,000 rubles and a diploma.
Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, often called simply the Arc de Triomphe, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the "étoile" or "star" of the juncture formed by its twelve radiating avenues. The location of the arc and the plaza is shared between three arrondissements, 16th (south and west), 17th (north), and 8th (east). The Arc de Triomphe honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I. The central cohesive element of the "Axe historique" (historic axis, a sequence of monuments and grand thoroughfares on a route running from the courtyard of the Louvre to the Grande Arche de la Défense), the Arc de Triomphe was designed by Jean Chalgrin in 1806; its iconographic programme pits heroically nude French youths against bearded Germanic warriors in chain mail. It set the tone for public monuments with triumphant patriotic messages. Inspired by the Arch of Titus in Rome, Italy, the Arc de Triomphe has an overall height of , width of and depth of , while its large vault is high and wide. The smaller transverse vaults are high and wide.
Paris's Arc de Triomphe was the tallest triumphal arch until the completion of the Monumento a la Revolución in Mexico City in 1938, which is high. The Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, completed in 1982, is modeled on the Arc de Triomphe and is slightly taller at . The Grande Arche in La Défense near Paris is 110 metres high, and, if considered to be a triumphal arch, is the world's tallest. History. Construction and late 19th century. The Arc de Triomphe is located on the right bank of the Seine at the centre of a dodecagonal configuration of twelve radiating avenues. It was commissioned in 1806, after the victory at Austerlitz by Emperor Napoleon at the peak of his fortunes. Laying the foundations alone took two years and, in 1810, when Napoleon entered Paris from the west with his new bride, Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, he had a wooden mock-up of the completed arch constructed. The architect, Jean Chalgrin, died in 1811 and the work was taken over by Jean-Nicolas Huyot. During the Bourbon Restoration, construction was halted, and it would not be completed until the reign of Louis Philippe I, between 1833 and 1836, by the architects Goust, then Huyot, under the direction of Héricart de Thury. The final cost was reported at about 10,000,000 francs (equivalent to an estimated €65 million or $75 million in 2020).
On 15 December 1840, brought back to France from Saint Helena, Napoleon's remains passed under it on their way to the Emperor's final resting place at . Before burial in the Panthéon, the body of Victor Hugo was displayed under the Arc on the night of 22 May 1885. <br> 20th century. The sword carried by the "Republic" in the "Marseillaise" relief broke off on the day, it is said, that the Battle of Verdun began in 1916. The relief was immediately hidden by tarpaulins to conceal the accident and avoid any undesired ominous interpretations. On 7 August 1919 three weeks after the Paris victory parade in 1919 (marking the end of hostilities in World War I), Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane under the arch's primary vault, with the event captured on newsreel. Jean Navarre was the pilot who was tasked to make the flight, but he died on 10 July 1919 when he crashed near Villacoublay while training for the flight Following its construction, the Arc de Triomphe became the rallying point of French troops parading after successful military campaigns and for the annual Bastille Day military parade. Famous victory marches around or under the Arc have included the Germans in 1871, the French in 1919, the Germans in 1940, and the French and Allies in 1944 and 1945. A United States postage stamp of 1945 shows the "Arc de Triomphe" in the background as victorious American troops march down the Champs-Élysées and U.S. airplanes fly overhead on 29 August 1944. After the interment of the Unknown Soldier, however, all military parades (including the aforementioned post-1919) have avoided marching through the actual arch. The route taken is up to the arch and then around its side, out of respect for the tomb and its symbolism. Both Hitler in 1940 and Charles de Gaulle in 1944 observed this custom.
By the early 1960s, the monument had grown very blackened from coal soot and automobile exhaust, and during 1965–1966 it was cleaned through bleaching. In the prolongation of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, a new arch, the Grande Arche de la Défense, was built in 1982, completing the line of monuments that forms Paris's "Axe historique". After the "Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel" and the "Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile", the "Grande Arche" is the third arch built on the same perspective. In 1995, the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria placed a bomb near the Arc de Triomphe which wounded 17 people as part of a campaign of bombings. On 12 July 1998, when France won the FIFA World Cup for the first time after defeating Brazil 3–0 at the Stade de France, images of the players including double goal scorer Zinedine Zidane and their names along with celebratory messages were projected onto the arch. <br> 21st century. In late 2018, the Arc de Triomphe suffered acts of vandalism as part of the Yellow vests protests. The vandals sprayed the monument with graffiti and ransacked its small museum. In September 2021, the arc was wrapped in a silvery blue fabric and red rope, as part of L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped, a posthumous project planned by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude since the early 1960s.
<br> Design. Monument. The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin (1739–1811), in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture. Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the "Arc de Triomphe": Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire. The main sculptures are not integral friezes but are treated as independent trophies applied to the vast ashlar masonry masses, not unlike the gilt-bronze appliqués on Empire furniture. The four sculptural groups at the base of the Arc are "The Triumph of 1810" (Cortot), "Resistance" and "Peace" (both by Antoine Étex), and the most renowned of them all, "Departure of the Volunteers of 1792" commonly called "La Marseillaise" (François Rude). The face of the allegorical representation of France calling forth her people on this last was used as the belt buckle for the honorary rank of Marshal of France. Since the fall of Napoleon (1815), the sculpture representing "Peace" is interpreted as commemorating the Peace of 1815.

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